Hunter Liu Laoer and his wife capture a white snake that failed its heavenly tribulation. After receiving a blood ginseng as a gift, their greed expands; they forcibly take its scales and abandon it. Herb-gathering youth Zhang Shouxin risks his death to save the white snake. Once healed, the white snake goes down the mountain to settle scores and clear up grievances. In the end, the Liu couple repents and returns to farming, Zhang Shouxin gains opportunities through his kind heart, and the white snake retires into seclusion in the mountains, spelling out the simple truth that good and evil have their rewards, and contentment guards the heart.