Chen Dashan, a mountain guardian, rescues a thousand-year-old jade-antlered spirit deer from a sheer cliff. His children conspire with the wealthy landlord Zhou Mancang, driven by greed to sell the deer and break into their own home at night to capture it. Using a thousand-year-old medicinal herb garden as bait, the spirit deer lures the greedy men deep into the mountains, where they face landslides, underground rivers, and a valley of wolves. Yet they still refuse to repent. Eventually, all the wild beasts surround the village, and the prefect personally arrives to distinguish good from evil. The villains are brought to justice, while Chen Dashan is appointed guardian of the mountains and forests, revealing the truth that good and evil each receive their due and that all living things possess a spirit.