Scholar Mi Jin-Tu’s widowed sister-in-law is a wanton woman who is involved in an unsolvable case.  As the county magistrate Chu Wu-Liang is self-important and foolish, Mi Jin-Tu is put in jail.  Ma Yi who serves in the Mi family, is an honest and loyal man.  To regain his master’s favor who had once saved his life, he sacrifices the life of his beloved daughter, hoping to get Mi Jin-Tu out of prison.  But his daughter is sacrificed in vain.  To avenge his daughter’s death and save his master, Ma Yi goes all the way to sue the county magistrate at the court of the Inspector of Jiankang, Wen Lang.  In the courtroom, he rolls over a board filled with sharp nails to show his determination to redress the miscarriage of justice against his master and eventually dies on the board.  Wen Lang thus hurries to Moleng County on the very night to review the case.  It seems Heaven is so touched by Ma Yi’s death that even after the night watchman announces the 9th hour of the night, daylight never comes.  The death of Ma Yi indeed redresses the injustice done to Mi Jin-Tu, but it cannot change the stiff social system as evil officials are still in charge of the court.  The public are left feeling hopeless about this.  The night watchmen keep announcing the hour with their gongs, but daylight never comes.  It seems that the dark night of Moleng County will last forever…