Three Kingdoms 1's ending hides a preview of Lin Chong: Snowy Mountain Temple

The animated film Three Kingdoms Part 1: Struggle for Luoyang has just revealed its post-credits scene, and it's a gift for lovers of Chinese classics: a first look at Lin Chong: Snowy Mountain Temple, coming this winter.

The preview adapts the passage from Water Margin in which Lin Chong, the arms instructor, takes shelter from the wind and snow in a mountain temple. It's one of the most memorable moments in the novel, and here it's presented with a dense atmosphere: darkness, voices calling Lin Chong by different names, and a calm that breaks all at once.

The scene opens in black. Several voices repeat his name —"Instructor Lin," "brother," "husband," "Lin Chong"— like echoes of the past. Then the image wakes with him: thick snow, footprints marked on the ground, and a trail of blood staining the path. Beside him lie a bamboo hat and a wine gourd.

Lin Chong walks among the footprints and murmurs: "They're all gone, they're all gone…" Then he looks up and sees the temple engulfed in flames. In front of him, planted in the snow, is his red-tasseled spear. His reaction is a liberating shout: "I, the lord, drink to my heart's content!"

The animation studio behind the film has already explored the Tang dynasty and the end of the Han dynasty. Now it jumps to Water Margin and confirms its intention to build its own universe with the great works of Chinese literature.

The preview condenses Lin Chong's arc into seconds: from restraint to outburst. Snow, fire, the cold spear, and blood. A presentation designed to hit the viewer and leave them wanting more.

Lin Chong: Snowy Mountain Temple will premiere in winter, though there is no concrete date yet.

Did you watch the film and stay for the post-credits scene? Tell us in the comments what you thought of this first look at Lin Chong.