The Enigmatic Case (1980)

Original title: 碧水寒山奪命金

Johnnie To's directorial debut. This period martial arts mystery stars Damian Lau Chung-yan as Lu Tien-chun, an imprisoned swordsman, accused of killing three men. Lu probably would have already been executed for his crimes but is kept alive because he knows the whereabouts of some hidden gold, a secret the ruthless, one-eyed warden Hsiung Chien repeatedly tries to torture out of him. Escaping with the help of a fellow inmate (Lau Kong), Lu encounters maiden Yu Pei-pei (played by a very young Cherie Chung Chor-hung) who is travelling to pick up her father's ashes in Stone Town. When she sees a wanted poster featuring Lu, Pei-pei realizes that he was the man responsible for her father's murder. Lu gives the girl a chance to take revenge and, when she hesitates, he relates his recollections of what really happened on the night of the man's death. The true location of the gold remains a mystery to Lu and one of the three actual thieves appears to still be alive.