Clans of Intrigue (1977)

This movie is based on the first 3 books from The Legend of Chu Liu-hsiang, but as its running time is only about 1 1/2 hours, some parts have been - of course- cut out.

Chu Liu-hsiang was a dandy man, still I was amused with the big chains on Ti Lung's costume. [Later in the Perils of the Sentimental Swordsman, he wore more accessories on his hair.]

See the chain accessories. The boat in the background looked expensive.

Three big chiefs from different clans had been murdered, poisoned by the magic water. If in the book the poison left no trace, here the bodies were bloated. The owner of Palace Magic Water accused our master thief Chu Liu-hsiang as the culprit and as our hero denied the accusation, they gave him one month to catch the real guilty person.

Chu Liu-hsiang found that the 3 dead leaders had been lured out by a letter from a beautiful woman, who had been married to the chief of the Beggars' Clan. The woman admitted that she had sent the letters, looking for help because her husband had been murdered.

Chu Liu-hsiang had a problem with his nose.
It's the first time I saw he used an inhaler, though.

The plots were a bit different from the book, mostly because one of the Japanese hero's children was a girl.

A very young Norman Tsui in a little role.
He played a student of one of the dead chiefs.