I think Rosamund Kwan was a very good Lam Ying Ying! I can see why TVB casted Fiona Leung to be in the 1996 TV version, "State of Divinity." They both have round, expressive eyes and they sort of look like they are part Caucasian.
This is a very good and stylistic action movie that solidified Jet Li's career in Hong Kong and showed Brigitte Lin at her best.
"Swordsman II" is a movie very loosely and liberally based on Louis Cha's famous novel, "Xiao Ao Jiang Hu" ("The Smiling, Proud Wanderer"). It's about a character named Ling Wu Chong who goes through all the ordeals of becoming a swordsman in the pugilistic world only to see how it's filled with hypocrisy, backstabbing, and all the other ugly stuff.
The original "Swordsman" movie featured entirely different cast, with the exception of Fennie Yuen who played "Blue Phoenix" (excellent character by the way). The story of "Swordsman II" takes after the first one, with Jet Li as Ling Wu Chong. He is disillusioned by the whole martial arts world (mostly by the betrayal of his teacher) and decides to go away to some mountain with his kungfu sister, Kiddo (Michelle Reis). On their way to the mountain, he meets his old flame from the Sun Moon Sect, Lam Ying Ying (Rosamund Kwan) who is in trouble. Apparently, the leader of the Sun Moon Sect who happens to be Ying Ying's father has been usurped by her uncle, the Invincible East (Brigitte Lin).
Note that the Invincible East is a GUY at first, but because he practiced off of a sacred scroll that forced him to castrate himself to achieve the highest level of kung fu possible, he is now transforming into a woman. As luck would have it, Ling Wu Chong falls in love with this androgynous figure.
The rest of the story shows how ruthless the Invincible East can be when battling his/her enemies, and how Ling Wu Chong & the gang try to rescue Ying Ying's father. Of course in the end, the Invincible East is defeated as heartbroken Ling Wu Chong cries out to her, while both of them are falling off the cliff, "Are you or are you not the person I slept with that night?!?!"
Also, it turns out that Ying Ying's father, the rightful leader of the Sun Moon Sect is just as cruel and ruthless as his once-brother, the Invincible East. He wants Ling Wu Chong dead as he is threatened by the lad, so Ling Wu Chong and Kiddo escape with the help of Ying Ying. So once again, Ling Wu Chong and Ying Ying are separated...
Oh, the Invincible East isn't really dead. S/he is somehow resurrected for the sequel, "Swordsman III - the East is Red."
There have been many TV versions based on the novel, including Chow Yun Fat in the role of Ling Wu Chong. While I like his acting during his TVB era, my award for best Ling Wu Chong must go to Jackie Lui.
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