The atmosphere at the Peach Blossom Spring Inn in Lingbao County was rather unusual that day.
From early morning onward, the travelers who trickled into the inn for a meal were unlike the usual customers. The first was a dark-faced man carrying a traveling physician's banner. Ugly and fierce-looking though he was, he was still a doctor, so the innkeeper welcomed him attentively. But he asked for neither a meal nor a room. He simply sat down and stayed.
Next came a gigantic wandering monk taller than the doorframe. With a tangled beard, loose hair, and a face covered in burn scars, he looked positively hideous compared with the traveling physician. He planted his pilgrim's tin staff on the floor and shattered a stone tile. The innkeeper dared not protest. Assuming he had come to beg for alms, he hurried to light the stove and cook. Yet after eating an entire basin of vegetarian food, the monk also sat there without leaving.
The guests who arrived that afternoon were a group of Daoists. Their leader was nearly forty, his face as handsome as polished jade. He wore a purple Celestial Master's robe, its flowing sleeves lending him an air of elegant, unearthly grace. Four young disciples followed him, one of them injured, his splinted arm hanging in a sling around his neck.
Seeing yet another religious man, the innkeeper did not know quite how to receive him. Before he could speak, the purple-robed Daoist said, "You are not to admit any other guests today. Drive out everyone already staying here that you can. If anyone refuses, they must not blame this Daoist for being heavy-handed." His tone was savage and overbearing, leaving no room for argument.
The innkeeper sucked in a cold breath and looked again at the Daoist's face.