The Smiling, Proud Wanderer is a wuxia novel by Jin Yong (Louis Cha). It was first serialised in Hong Kong in the newspaper Ming Pao from 20 April 1967 to 12 October 1969. The Chinese title of the novel, Xiao Ao Jiang Hu, literally means to live a carefree life in a mundane world of strife. Alternate English translations of the title include The Wandering Swordsman, Laughing in the Wind, The Peerless Gallant Errant, and The Proud and Gallant Wanderer. Another alternative title, State of Divinity, is used for some of the novel's adaptations. Plot In the jianghu (martial artists' community), there is a highly coveted martial arts manual known as the "Bixie Swordplay Manual", which is the heirloom of the Lin family who runs the Fuwei Security Service in Fuzhou. The Qingcheng School's leader, Yu Canghai, leads his followers to massacre the Lins and attempts to seize the manual but does not find it. Yue Buqun, the leader of the Mount Hua School, — a member of the "orthodox" Five Mountains Sword Schools Alliance — saves Lin Pingzhi, the Lin family's sole survivor, accepts him as an apprentice and trains him in swordplay. The novel's protagonist is Yue Buqun's most senior apprentice, Linghu Chong, an orphaned, happy-go-lucky but honourable swordsman who has a penchant for alcoholic drinks. He befriends the notorious bandit Tian Boguang and saves Yilin, a nun from the (North) Mount Heng School, from Tian's lecherous advances. In the meantime, Liu Zhengfeng of the (South) Mount Heng School announces his decision to leave the jianghu and invites his fellow martial artists to witness his retirement ceremony. The event turns into a bloodbath when Zuo Lengchan, the chief of the Mount Song School, and other "orthodox" schools accuse Liu Zhengfeng of being unfaithful to their alliance by befriending Qu Yang, an elder of the "evil" Sun Moon Holy Cult. Liu Zhengfeng and Qu Yang are cornered by Zuo Lengchan and his men and eventually commit suicide. Before dying, Liu Zhengfeng and Qu Yang give Linghu Chong the score of "Xiaoao Jianghu" ("Laughing Proudly in the Jianghu"), a musical piece they composed together. (The Chinese title of the novel comes from the name of this fictional musical piece.) Lin Pingzhi's entrance into the Mount Hua School causes Linghu Chong's romantic feelings for Yue Lingshan, Yue Buqun's daughter, to subside because she starts falling in love with Lin Pingzhi. At