The story pivots around a rare treasure—a teapot set made of violet gold, which was given to Emperor Huizong of the Song dynasty as a tribute present from Western Liang Kingdom. However, it was stolen after General Gao Qiu took hold of the treasure in advance to admire its beauty. Despite being adapted from Water Margins, the story differs widely from the original in terms of plot development and characterization. Minor characters are much more fleshed out, such as the master thief Shi Qian, "Iron Buddha" Cui Dao-cheng, Yan-qing—the adopted son of the famous Hebei governor Lu Jun-yi. Some of the interesting adaptations include Shi Qian's secret visit to the palace at night, the heroes' fierce fights in the Song Capital Bianjing, the framing of Governor Lu, the Liangshan heroes' invasion of the temple, Zhu Chao-feng's collusion with the corrupt officials and antagonization with the Liangshan heroes, and so forth. Volume 3: In order to deal with the various rebel troops represented by Liangshan, the imperial court sets a trap in Tai'an. They lure the heroes of Liangshan to Tai'an in hopes of staging a purge.