Episode 7 — The First Customer
"Where might you be off to, Lady Baek?"
The young prodigies of the Murim Alliance crowded around the graceful young woman.
"There's something I need in the village."
The lovely woman swept her gaze over the young men with an arrogant smile.
Her name was Baek Ha-young, and she was the daughter of the Murim Alliance Leader.
Having inherited the Leader's blood in full, she excelled in martial arts and possessed a face beautiful enough to make her the object of every young man's admiration.
But precisely because her martial skill was exceptional and her looks outstanding, she held in contempt any man weaker than herself or less than handsome.
"Allow me to escort you to the village, my lady."
"No, I insist, Lady Baek."
The young men fawned and fluttered about, each hoping to catch her eye.
"There's no need. I'll be going with my sisters-in-arms."
Several young women attended Baek Ha-young, hovering around her like courtiers around a lord.
"V...very well. Travel safely, my lady."
"Safe travels, Lady Baek."
The young prodigies had no choice but to withdraw, disappointed.
Once she left the Murim Alliance, she set out toward the village.
Hmph.
"A pack of idiots."
When Baek Ha-young let out a frosty snort, the women around her burst into laughter.
"Hohoho....."
"The nerve of them, lifting their noses so high just to win your favor, Lady Baek."
"Men who don't know their own place."
Baek Ha-young was walking along in high spirits when she suddenly stopped and turned her eyes toward the forest on her left.
"It seems someone has moved into that forest?"
The women escorting her also turned to peer into the trees.
"There's a white flag hanging up—it looks like an inn."
"Shall we take a look inside?"
"It's no better than an abandoned ruin, Lady Baek."
"Well, the food might be good."
Baek Ha-young strode forward briskly and crossed the stone bridge.
The young women hurried after her in a rush.
Once they crossed the collapsed fence, an inn appeared—little more than pillars and a roof.
"Welcome."
Before she had even stepped inside, a young, strikingly handsome man appeared.
"They're coming...... they're coming........"
Jiang Zhou muttered the same words his master used to recite before ascending to heaven on a crane.
Right now, the inn's very first customers were crossing the bridge.
And they were lovely young women of the Jianghu, no less.
So my grand opening begins with beautiful women.
Jiang Zhou hurried outside and stood beneath the eaves, bowing deeply at the waist.
"Welcome, honored guests."
The graceful young woman looked at Jiang Zhou's face with a flicker of surprise.
He seemed far too young to be the master of an inn, and his features were far too refined.
"Are you the owner of this inn?"
"Yes, I am the master of this establishment. Please, have a seat."
Jiang Zhou answered her in a soft, courteous voice.
"You mean for me to sit here?"
Baek Ha-young frowned as she looked over the table and the log chairs.
The table had been wiped clean, but it looked shabby, and the chairs were nothing more than logs cut straight from the trunk.
"Yes. They may not look like much, but they're sturdy and comfortable—"
"What dishes is this inn known for?"
She cut him off and asked again.
"Our Pork Noodles and Chicken Noodles are delicious."
The moment he finished answering, another woman who had been wearing a dissatisfied expression spoke up.
"How much for one bowl of Chicken Noodles?"
"One silver tael per bowl."
Baek Ha-young and her entourage froze, their mouths hanging open in shock.
At other inns, a bowl of Beef Noodles cost one copper coin, and even the most expensive establishments charged no more than two.
The women glared at Jiang Zhou with icy eyes.
"One silver tael for a single bowl of Pork Noodles?"
Jiang Zhou had expected exactly this reaction, so his face did not redden.
"If you would only try it once, you'll find one silver tael is hardly a wasteful—"
But the voice never reached Baek Ha-young's ears.
"What a shameless scammer you are. How dare you attempt to swindle anyone?"
Her pride wounded, she began to radiate a faint killing intent.
Men who ran cons like this were no different from bandits.
And bandits were things that had to be stamped out for the sake of a peaceful world.
But Jiang Zhou was every bit as furious.
If you didn't want to eat, fine—so why the flood of insults and the killing intent?
"If you'd just try it, and if it doesn't suit your taste, I won't take your sil—"
"Silence, you wretch!"
Baek Ha-young shrieked and her hand flew to the hilt of her sword.
In that instant, a chill ran cold through Jiang Zhou's chest.
The moment you draw that blade and swing it, you die.
The women standing behind her hurriedly held her back.
"You mustn't kill a man over something like this, Lady Baek."
Baek Ha-young shot Jiang Zhou one last murderous glare, then turned on her heel.
"Filthy trash."
She and her women clambered over the broken fence and disappeared into the forest.
The moment they were gone, Jiang Zhou strode into the kitchen, grabbed a fistful of salt, and came back out.
Then he scattered the salt along the path they had taken.
"Of all the luck—scum like that as my very first customers."
Haa........
Once the salt was scattered, a sigh escaped his lips of its own accord.
Should I really be charging real food prices?
Ak Hwan looked up at the steadily falling rain.
Phew........
A deep sigh escaped the lips of the man gazing at the sky.
In his childhood, he had been hailed as a prodigy, the sole vessel of his clan's hopes.
He had known it, too, and so he had always carried himself with confidence.
But once he entered the Murim Alliance, that pride shattered into fragments.
The Jianghu was crawling with dragons and phoenixes—prodigies beyond all counting.
He was nothing but a frog at the bottom of a well, gazing up at a sliver of sky.
Near his home, his reputation as a genius had rung loud and clear, but within the Murim Alliance he didn't even rank among the merely ordinary.
If only I could place somewhere within the top fifty.
Tomorrow was the day of the Murim Alliance's tournament.
The Alliance held a martial tournament every month, and tomorrow was that very day.
Ak Hwan prayed and prayed again to place within the top fifty of the tournament.
What made this tournament especially important was the rumor that the Murim Alliance was forming a new organization, recruiting prodigies of exceptional martial skill.
And that organization needed exactly fifty members.
Having finished his daily training, he left the Murim Alliance.
He had never been much of a drinker, but failure after failure left him craving liquor despite himself.
As he made his way toward the village, he spotted a derelict building in the forest, a pale white flag hanging out front.
So an inn opened up in a place like this?
Curious, he noticed that lanterns had been hung in the forest even though it was broad daylight.
With dark clouds and rain blotting out the sun, the day had grown dim—no doubt that was why.
Ah........... so this is that place?
The inn that charged one silver tael for a single bowl of Pork Noodles.
Thanks to the wagging tongues of the female warriors, lighter than feathers with gossip, every last prodigy in the Alliance had heard of it within a single day.
Maybe........ I'll give it a try?
Had the day been clear, he wouldn't have spared the place so much as a glance.
But with the rain falling now, his heart stirred despite himself.
After a moment's hesitation, Ak Hwan crossed the log bridge.
He's coming..... he's coming...... he's coming......
A short young wanderer of the Jianghu was crossing the Stone Bridge, a long spear in one hand.
Ba-dump, ba-dump......
His heart pounded for no reason, and even the saliva on his lips had gone dry.
I can't just let this one walk away too.
If even a single person tasted his food, word would spread like wildfire.
That was how crucial the first customer was.
Jiang Zhou stepped outside and bowed with utmost courtesy.
"Welcome, sir."
He stole a discreet glance—the hesitation was plain on the short man's face.
Jiang Zhou swiftly gestured toward a chair.
"Please, have a seat."
Arriving beneath the eaves, Ak Hwan looked the inn over.
Should I just turn back?
Even at a glance, the place was a wreck.
Seating had been arranged outside, but the tables were flimsy and the chairs were bare logs.
Yet the young man was beaming with such a bright smile that it was hard to turn away outright.
So Ak Hwan shuffled over and sat down awkwardly.
I'll just consider one silver tael as money thrown away.
The moment he settled into the chair, Jiang Zhou hurried into the kitchen.
Most rich folk are the same—they hate wasting silver on anything they can't see the point of.
Ak Hwan's family was wealthy.
One silver tael was no burden to a house of such means, though to ordinary folk it was a hefty sum.
Haa.......
A sigh spilled from Ak Hwan's lips unbidden.
He should never have left the Alliance in the first place.
"Just bring me whatever you have. Do you have any liquor?"
"Yes, we have baijiu."
"How much is the baijiu?"
At his question, Jiang Zhou decided to show a little generosity.
"As you are this inn's very first customer, I won't charge you for the drink."
At the words first customer, Ak Hwan's face grew gloomier still.
"Then....... just bring one bottle of baijiu."
Jiang Zhou ladled liquor into a bottle and set it out alongside a plate of Seasoned Wild Greens.
Then he lit the stove fires one by one.
Receiving the wild greens, Ak Hwan asked,
"What's this?"
"Seasoned Wild Greens, sir. Please enjoy them with your drink."
At Jiang Zhou's answer, he picked up his chopsticks.
The moment he lifted a mouthful of greens to his lips, a fragrant, clean flavor bloomed across his tongue.
Oh? These are actually pretty good.
Mildly astonished, he brought the greens to his mouth again and again.
They really are delicious.
How good could mountain herbs possibly be, after all?
And yet these mountain vegetables tasted wonderful despite never having touched a drop of oil.
Good food made the liquor go down on its own.
Ahh, that's the stuff......
It was cheap, harsh baijiu, but today it tasted remarkably fine.
Tak! Tak.....!
While Ak Hwan drank, Jiang Zhou pounded his cutting board and pulled the noodles by hand.
He's got skilled hands, this one.
Ak Hwan watched Jiang Zhou draw out the noodles as he drained his cup.
With the liquor flowing freely, his heavy mood loosened and his mouth opened on its own.
"Where did you learn to cook?"
Jiang Zhou answered while he worked.
"In the mountains, from my master."
"You learned in the mountains, not at an inn?"
"Yes. My master taught so carelessly that I had to learn by figuring it out myself."
Haha.....
The absurdity of the answer drew laughter from Ak Hwan's lips despite himself.
The first impression hadn't been much, but somehow his heart felt a little lighter.
"By the way—is it true what they say, one silver tael for a bowl of noodles?"
At the question, Jiang Zhou flinched inwardly.
He had planned to let the man taste first and reveal the price afterward, but it seemed he already knew.
Those wretched women.
Jiang Zhou cursed them silently while keeping a faint smile on his face.
"Yes. Try it first, and then tell me what you think."
The reply of a man brimming with confidence.
Ak Hwan quietly drained his cup.
Jiang Zhou set the Pork Noodles, crowned with sliced pork, down on the table.
"Your Pork Noodles, sir."
Even through the haze of drink, Ak Hwan could tell the noodles were thinner than any he'd seen elsewhere.
The presentation is fairly respectable, but.......
He lifted his chopsticks and placed a piece of meat in his mouth.
The instant it touched his tongue, a springy yet tender texture spread across his palate.
After just a few chews, the meat slid naturally down his throat.
What—what is this meat?
He moved his chopsticks again and brought the noodles to his lips.
Fwook..
The moment they entered his mouth, the springy bite of the noodles and the rich yet clean flavor of the broth washed over him.
Ah........
Ak Hwan couldn't hold back his gasp of awe as he swallowed the noodles.
His family's wealth had let him taste the celebrated dishes of famous inns many times over.
But he had never once eaten anything more delicious than this.
It was so good he felt as though the alcohol had burned clean out of him.
Hoollukk........hoollukk...
Ak Hwan shoveled meat and noodles into his mouth in a daze.
He drained even the last of the broth, then held out his empty bowl.
"That is the finest Pork Noodles I've ever tasted. One more bowl, if you please."
"One moment, sir."
Tak! Tak.....!
With a bright smile, Jiang Zhou set to the cutting board once more and began pulling noodles again.
Watching him work with barely contained impatience, Ak Hwan took another long pull of liquor.
"And.. and another bottle of liquor as well."
"Right away."
Jiang Zhou brought out the Pork Noodles together with the fresh bottle.