The Opening (1)
The morning streets of West Lake were truly deserted. The thoroughfares that had thronged with people all through the night now welcomed their hour of rest as day broke.
Click.
The inn door opened and Jo Seol stepped out. Flushed with excitement, she gazed down the empty street and drew a deep breath.
“Hooo~”
The morning air of West Lake slipped into her mouth and coolly filled her lungs. Unlike before, she felt strength flood her entire body with that single breath. It was all thanks to the breathing method Kang Yeon had taught her. Ever since she had begun the training, Jo Seol could feel her health and stamina improving beyond recognition.
Skin growing fairer by the day, smooth as white jade, was a welcome bonus.
“It’s really amazing. Is that why every woman in the martial world is so beautiful?”
She thought of the martial heroines who had occasionally visited the inn. Every one of them had radiated lively health and been strikingly lovely.
“Am I becoming a martial artist myself now?”
Jo Seol was receiving martial training from Kang Yeon every single day. It had been grueling at first, but now that the foundation was taking shape she found herself looking forward to practice. If she kept this up, she wondered, might she one day grow as strong as the true martial artists?
But—
“Don’t even think about it. I have no intention of teaching you that far.”
Jo Seol’s thoughts scattered like a startled bird at the sound of Kang Yeon’s voice. She spun around to find him standing there in his cooking clothes, a crooked grin on his face.
“You heard that? I mean, I wasn’t saying I wanted to become a martial artist or anything. Just… you know…”
“Of course, if you trained properly under me you wouldn’t stop at ordinary martial artist—you’d become an absolute master. But I already told you last time, didn’t I? Becoming a martial artist doesn’t even put food on the table.”
“Yeah, I know. I’m not planning on leaving the inn either.”
Kang Yeon nodded and glanced around.
“We’ve still got plenty of time.”
“Is everything ready inside?”
“Of course. Everything’s set. Just a few small things left before we open for business.”
Kang Yeon reached into empty air. From nowhere he drew out a wooden signboard. Jo Seol let out a soft gasp of wonder at the sight.
“Whoa… That still amazes me every time I see it. Martial artists really do have all kinds of incredible powers.”
“This particular power is mine alone among martial artists. Not everyone can do it.”
Thud.
He set the signboard neatly by the entrance and folded his arms. Jo Seol came closer and studied the blank board, empty of any writing.
“You’re going to write the dishes we sell on this, right?”
“Exactly. We’re not selling ordinary food, after all. People should at least know what we’re offering.”
With the signboard in place, Kang Yeon flicked his fingers. Characters bloomed across its surface. Once the menu was inscribed, he etched an extremely fine, precise formation onto the reverse side.
Hum. Hum.
The moment the formation took hold, a gentle energy began to radiate from the board. Jo Seol read the names of the dishes and swallowed hard, mouth watering.
“They really were the best things I’ve ever tasted. I want to eat them again.”
“I can make them for you anytime. More importantly—do you think the customers will like them?”
“Of course. People’s tastes are all the same. Once something’s delicious, they can’t help but love it.”
Kang Yeon grinned, reassured by her confidence.
“That puts my mind at ease.”
“But will people even know what the dishes are just from looking at the signboard?”
Kang Yeon had been the victor of the cooking contest that had decided the fate of the West Lake Number One Inn. The modern dishes he had reimagined in Chinese style had won the absolute approval of the judges—Dan U-ryeong and Jo Seol—and he had claimed victory outright. Even Jo Hwan, after tasting them, had been forced to concede.
“That’s why I prepared something extra. You should know this too—try touching one of the dish names.”
Jo Seol did as she was told and lightly tapped a name written on the board with her fingertip. Instantly a fully prepared dish appeared before her eyes.
“Wha—?”
She rubbed her eyes in confusion. A dish materializing out of thin air was more than enough to startle anyone. She reached out, but her hand closed on nothing.
“It’s not real. It’s a kind of illusion the signboard projects.”
“What kind of signboard has a function like that???”
“I figured explaining every dish one by one would get annoying, so I made it.”
If the founder of the art of formations and arrays, the Heavenly Mechanist himself, had ever seen the sign Kang Yeon had crafted, his heart would have leapt clean out of his chest. Kang Yeon had produced it as casually as breathing.
“Wow… that’s really incredible… You can do all sorts of things with martial arts.”
“Calling it martial arts is a stretch. Let’s just say it’s a little parlor trick only I can pull off.”
Jo Seol kept exclaiming in delight as she tapped the other names, eyes sparkling at every illusion that floated up before her.
“This is going to be so convenient. The customers will be amazed too.”
“West Lake these days is a place of cutthroat competition. To survive you have to use every method available.”
“Once they taste our food they won’t be able to stay away. Don’t worry.”
Jo Seol gave Kang Yeon’s shoulder a light pat and went back inside, saying she still had a few things to tidy. Kang Yeon had already cleaned the place thoroughly with the energy of wind and water, yet there were still corners that needed Jo Seol’s personal touch.
Alone now, Kang Yeon looked out over the quiet street and drew a long breath.
“Hoo… Why am I this nervous over something so small?”
Even when he had single-handedly smashed the Demonic Alliance he had not felt this tense. Right now he was tasting the exact same feeling he had known as a child working in the old inn—an emotion he had longed for through all the long years.
Woooong.
After topping up the signboard’s energy one last time, Kang Yeon stepped back inside. Time passed, and the streets of West Lake gradually began to fill with people once more.
West Lake was home to people of every kind. The sheer size of its population generated enormous interests. There was talk that the number of inns and pleasure houses in West Lake alone rivaled the total found across the entire Central Plains.
It had not always drawn so many people.
The long decades of war in the martial world had made West Lake what it was. More precisely, the change had begun roughly ten-odd years earlier. The wars waged by the Orthodox Faction, the Unorthodox Faction, and the Demonic Cult for their own interests had soaked the Central Plains in blood, yet at some point West Lake had become an exception to those battles.
No one knew why.
Because it was a safe haven from the fighting of the martial world, more and more people flocked there.
Naturally, those who lived off the vast profits generated in West Lake also multiplied. Their ways of life were just as varied. Of course there was no shortage of troublemakers either; the largest and most representative of them was the Five Flowers Sect. Ironically, the absence of any great sect’s interference had allowed such groups to flourish.
On the other hand, there were those who belonged to no faction and lived alone.
These people solved the problems that arose at West Lake’s inns and shops.
The people of West Lake called them “solvers.” As long as they were paid the fee they wanted, they would untangle whatever messy affair was plaguing the city. Most of these solvers were martial artists who had themselves drifted into West Lake to escape the endless wars of the martial world.
Some were martial artists from great sects who had gone into hiding to avoid the fighting.
Others were mercenaries who had grown weary of the battlefields and settled down.
“Oh?? Was there always an inn here?”
West Lake Number One Inn.
The martial artist gazing at the newly born inn was named Nang Hyeon.
From the moment he had first felt real power in his hands he had thrown himself into the wars of the martial world, and he had survived all the way to the age of forty—a veteran of a hundred battles. He had fought for the Orthodox Faction, the Demonic Cult, and the Unorthodox Faction without distinction, and through that he had managed to raise his martial arts to a considerable level.
But a tree without roots can only grow so far.
At some point Nang Hyeon realized his martial arts would never advance further, and he abandoned the life of a martial artist on the spot. Nothing in the world was more valuable than one’s life, after all. So he drifted into West Lake, and since the only skill he possessed was swinging a sword for pay, he inevitably became a solver.
Money-Fighting Demon Nang Hyeon.
That was the moniker given to the man who would fight for anyone so long as the money was paid. After arriving in West Lake he had discovered a new hobby: gourmet dining. Nang Hyeon spent every coin he earned sampling the specialties of every inn and pleasure house in the city.
As a result, his evaluations of food had come to carry considerable weight.
In modern terms, he was something of a food critic. And now a brand-new inn had caught the eye of such a man—how could he simply walk past? Especially one with such a clean, elegant exterior.
“Ah! Right—this used to be that inn, didn’t it?”
He glanced at the name again and a faint disappointment clouded his eyes.
“Same name as before. Did they just rebuild the place?”
A man who prided himself on having conquered every kitchen in West Lake could hardly have missed the West Lake Number One Inn. Nang Hyeon had rated its food as mid-low.
He expressed the quality of cuisine in ranks:
Highest. Upper-Middle. Upper-Lower. Mid-Upper. Mid-Lower. Lowest.
The system had gained enough trust that some inns even advertised using the ranks Nang Hyeon had assigned them. In short, he was both a ferocious fighter and a dedicated gourmand.
“Hmm… Somehow the feel of it reminds me of Ilyeong Inn.”
What held him back from turning away—convinced he already knew the taste—was the inn’s exterior. His longstanding belief was that the better an inn, the more care it put into its appearance. A place built with this much attention might well have changed.
“Well… one meal is a small price to pay for a look.”
If the food was bad he could simply leave. The important thing was to order something basic and take the measure of the kitchen. Decision made, Nang Hyeon approached the entrance. A lovely young woman was standing out front—Jo Seol herself.
“Ah! Welcome!!”
The moment she spotted Nang Hyeon her face lit up with pure delight. He tilted his head at the intensity of her welcome. Greeting customers was only natural, of course, but this was unusually warm. The corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
Being welcomed always felt good.
Especially when the welcome came from such a charming young lady.
“Ahem… Good day. Judging by the looks of things, you’ve just reopened?”
Jo Seol answered with a bright smile.
“Yes, that’s right. You’re Master Nang Hyeon, aren’t you?”
Her sharp recognition made him clear his throat again.
“Ahem… How did you know who I am…?”
“Of course I know. How could anyone run a food business in West Lake without knowing Master Nang Hyeon?”
His mood soared even higher.
“You honor me so much I hardly know what to do with myself. Are you serving meals now?”
Jo Seol replied in the kindest tone in the world.
“Of course. Please come in. You’re our very first customer.”