The Inn Between Past and Present: Starting with a Veteran of the Anxi Army Checking In

Deng Ru stumbled upon an inn on the outskirts of Jiangnan City.

It had few guests, and life was peaceful.

Until one day, an old man in Tang Dynasty armor arrived with a boy of eight or nine dressed in a round-collared robe.

The old man cleared his throat and asked him, "Innkeeper, how far is it from here to Chang'an?"

From that day on, the inn's peaceful days were over.

A waiter from the Ming Dynasty chased a tenant from the Qing Dynasty around, shouting that he wanted to overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming.

The old security guard from the Tang Dynasty always sat at the inn's entrance, asking whether the moon above was the same moon that had shone over Chang'an in his day.

The songstress from the Song Dynasty often sang, "When will the shame of Jingkang be avenged?"

She would also gaze enviously at the female soldiers from Western Xia next door.

Every ancient visitor who stepped through this door briefly dragged the inn back into their own era.

The windswept city of Kucha, Coal Hill sinking into the sunset, and Lin'an, where songs and dances never ceased.

Whenever he helped an ancient visitor fulfill their lingering wish, he gained one of their skills.

The Anxi veteran's deadly fighting techniques, the Song Dynasty songstress's clear, melodious voice, the Ming Dynasty swordsman's peerless light-footedness.

Hmm…

Reverend, you came here from the late Eastern Han Dynasty and follow the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice. This book on qi cultivation you gave me...

Is it the real deal?