The Legend of the Martial World: Tongfu Inn

Tong Xiangyu, owner of the inn, is a charming, middle-aged woman from Guanzhong. Sharp and capable, she also has a kind heart. Tong Xiangyu was originally the eldest daughter of the Longmen Escort Agency. She came here in pursuit of love, never imagining that she would take over the inn without ever seeing her husband.

The waiter, Bai Zhantang, known as Lao Bai, was once a legendary thief famed throughout the martial world. His lightness skills are superb, and his pressure-point technique is second to none. Now retired from that life, all he wants is a quiet existence at the Tongfu Inn.

The bookkeeper, Lu Xiucai, could recognize a thousand characters at three, recite Tang poems at five, and had mastered the Four Books and Five Classics by seven. By eight, he was well versed in poetry and prose. Yet he repeatedly failed the imperial examinations, and ended up taking a job keeping the inn’s accounts.

The odd-job girl, Guo Furong, comes from the family of Guo the Great Hero and dreams of roaming the martial world and helping the righteous. But she was too inexperienced when she first ventured out, and ran up a huge debt at the Tongfu Inn. Now she has to work there to pay it off.

The cook, Li Dazui, whose real name is Li Xiulian, may not be a master chef, but his dishes are good enough to satisfy the inn’s guests. He’s honest and good-natured, though occasionally a little greedy.

And then there’s Tong Xiangyu’s sister-in-law, Mo Xiaobei, a mischievous little girl who thinks about candied hawthorn and skipping school all day long.