When the future empress Wu Zetian's two courtiers die in a mysterious fire, she gets Di Renjie, a former detective and rebel, released from prison to solve the mystery of the fire.
劉德華
as Detective Dee
李冰冰
as Shangguan Jing'er
Deng Chao
as Pei Donglai
梁家輝
as Shatuo Zhong
劉嘉玲
as Wu Zetian
吳耀漢
as Wang Lu (before face-lift)
泰迪羅賓
as Wang Lu (after face-lift)
刘金山
as Xue Yong
Yao Lu
as Li Xiao
王德顺
as Xiazi Ling
He Shengming
as Prison Officer
黃永剛
as Zhang Xun