Danping reveals that prior to his acclaim as a theatre actor, he was a revolutionary fighter in the Second Chinese Revolution, after which he was forced to go into hiding and develop a new identity. While living as Danping, the clandestine revolutionary fell in love with Li Xiaoxia, whose father did not approve of the couple. At the encouragement of Danping's rival Tang Jun, Danping was tortured and ultimately attacked with acid by Tang's accomplices. Although he survived the attack, Danping was horribly disfigured by the acid burns and became too embarrassed to show himself to Xiaoxia. Instead of facing her, Danping started a rumour of his death, which in turn drove Xiaoxia to the point of insanity. Back in the present day, Danping explains that he now lives in the seclusion of the theatre attic, only coming out to sing every midnight, comforting a mentally unstable Xiaoxia with his song. Upon hearing Danping's tragic story, Xiao’ou agrees to help comfort the distressed Xiaoxia, whose condition improves markedly after meeting Xiao’ou, who poses as Danping. As a parallel to Danping's resurrection through Xiao’ou in the eyes of Xiaoxia, the Angel Theatre Trouple puts on a production of Danping's old play, Hot Blooded, with Xiao’ou playing Danping's lead part. He does so with great success, as many people flock to the theatre to see the play. Unfortunately for the protagonists, one of the people in attendance is Tang Jun, Danping's old rival and now owner of the theatre. He takes a liking to the girlfriend of Xiao’ou, fellow actress Lu Die, which leads to Tang Jun accosting Die in her dressing room. As Tang tries to force himself on Die, Xiao’ou arrives and pulls Tang away from her. Tang aims his pistol at Xiao’ou, but in order to protect her boyfriend, Die jumps in front of the shot, and is killed. It is at this precise moment that Danping, hearing the gunshot, comes out of hiding to finally face Tang. The pair fight their way to the top of the tower while Xiao’ou does his best to unsuccessfully calm the rising anger of the audience, the excited theatregoers quickly becoming an angry, torch-wielding mob. Upstairs, Danping concludes his fight with Tang, as Danping kills his rival by throwing him out of a window. The mob sets its sights on Danping, who they assume to be a monster, due to his ghastly