Hong Kong veteran actor Lau Ching-wan (left) and mainland actress Jiang Yiyan (right) pose for a picture together in Beijing as they promote their new film "The Murderer Vanishes". [Photo/CRIENGLISH.com]

Tough-guy Hong Kong veteran actor Lau Ching-wan has joined hands with mainland actress Jiang Yiyan again in a suspense film, which is the continuation of the 2012 mystery film, "The Bullet Vanishes".

The new film "The Murderer Vanishes" is due for release this Friday.

"The Murderer Vanishes", by Hong Kong writer-director Law Chi-Leung, is a thriller set in the 1930s in northern China. It follows a police inspector Song Donglu who chases an escaped female convict to a city filled with corruption and struggling with a high suicide rate.

Lau continues to act as police inspector Song, who, in the first installment, is an inexperienced young policeman, but transforms into a famed inspector with much experience in "The Murderer Vanishes".

He discloses other differences in this upcoming second installment.

"'The Bullet Vanishes' and 'The Murderer Vanishes' tell totally different stories. And the new film contains a large number of fight scenes. What has made me feel special is several horse-involved special effects sequences."

Jiang Yiyan plays the prisoner Fu Yuan, who digs a tunnel in a women's prison cell with a silver spoon and escapes.

According to Jiang, the second installment brings her closer to inspector Song Donglu.

"Moviegoers who have watched 'The Bullet Vanishes' yearn for more about a relation of affections between me and inspector Song Donglu. In the upcoming movie, the director put us in a very romantic setting, which I think would not only gratify the audiences' wishes, but also provide them far beyond what they have longed for."

In the city where Song chases the escaped convict Fu, there's a business magnate who has corrupted the government officials, monopolized the whole industrial business and treated the laborers harshly.

Guo Xiaodong acts as the business magnate. Meanwhile, "The Murderer Vanishes" also stars Gordon Lam, a Hong Kong actor who is well known for many supporting roles in both films and TV drama series. Mainland actress Li Xiaolu and Taiwan-British film actor Rhydian Vaughan also participate in the film.

Whether the thriller film will be another box office success, let us check out in cinemas on this Friday.