When the story begins, a herbalist and his family are rushing ashore after traveling from Quanzhou. The author asks repeatedly, "Why were they so obviously in a rush? Why did they make no effort to mask the terror writ large on their blanched faces.
故事一開始，來自泉州的「漢藥仙仔」一家人在鹿城海邊倉皇上岸，作者反覆追問：「何以明顯倉皇，將懼怕毫無遮掩地寫在臉上而致整張臉青損損，究竟為著什麼？」