These are numbered instead of having short phrases or duilian as chapter headings, as was Jin Yong's usual style.

[1] The actual time frame of the novel lasts only a day, but the stories encapsulated in it stretch back months, years and even decades before.

In the revised afterword to the novel, Jin Yong mentions that he did not draw inspiration from Akira Kurosawa's 1950 film Rashomon as many people had falsely assumed.

[2] The story begins in the Changbai mountains in northeast China during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing dynasty.

The saber's story dates back over a century ago to the feuds of the four bodyguards of the warlord Li Zicheng, who led the rebellion that overthrew the Ming dynasty.

Owing to a massive misunderstanding which lasted several generations, their descendants have been slaying each other in a vendetta that prevented any of them from uncovering the truth.

Hu Fei grew up and became a powerful martial artist nicknamed "Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain".

Hu Fei was a playable character in the 2008 PC fighting game Street Fighter Online: Mouse Generation.