Impetuous, whip-wielding martial maiden Cui-ping (Shi Szu) seeks instruction from the legendary Lady Hermit, but her current whereabouts are a mystery. In actuality, this matchless swordswoman is right under her nose, disguised as an insignificant maid named Leng Yushuang (Cheng Pei-pei). Both women seek to destroy powerful bandit Black Demon (Wang Hsia), who has immodestly proclaimed himself "No. 1" of the martial world and perpetrated many murderous and criminal acts. After a period of pleading (albeit much shorter than the norm for these movies), Yushuang agrees to teach Cui-ping her kung fu. Of particular importance is the mastery of the Flying Tiger technique, which will allow her to counter Black Demon’s judo-style throws. This female bonding is thrown off-kilter by handsome swordsman Chang-chun (Lo Lieh), whom both women love, prompting Cui-ping to go and face Black Dragon on her own.

A stirring, violent swordplay adventure, Ho Meng-hua’s THE LADY HERMIT was Cheng Pei-pei’s swan song for Shaw Brothers and it seems partially structured to accommodate her departure, with the torch more or less passed to Shi Szu. The teacher student dynamic is not as integral to the plot as the synopsis might suggest, but Cheng and Shi inhabit the parts in pleasing fashion and there are some unusual touches in the storyline (a gang of extortionists terrorize the villagers disguised as ghosts: those who refuse to buy expensive charms to ward off the phantoms are brutally killed as an example to the others). The climatic battle is consistently exciting and kicks off in grand fashion with Cui-ping fighting her way up the outside of a tower, in order to make the symbolic gesture of toppling Black Dragon’s flag.