Chapter 1197: Speaking of Jianghu In The Westwind Restaurant

Westwind Restaurant was one of the most common and famous inns in Wei. It was also one of the favorite places of the

jianghu

people.

Westwind Restaurant was famous not because their wine was particularly delicious, their service quality was particularly high, or their environment was particularly great, however. In fact, Westwind Restaurant’s wine was one of the cheapest, shoddiest, and most common hot liquor out there, and yet it was priced at one silver per jar.

Manned by only a shopkeeper, a cook, and a waiter, the shopkeeper wore an ugly expression that seemed to be permanently etched to his face and did nothing except accepting money, the waiter was as rough as he was boorish, and the cook was a cheapskate who snuck water into wine, and salt into meat in every meal he served. Quality was the last thing one should expect from Westwind Restaurant.

The environment was even worse. It was small, narrow, and filled with all sorts of people. It was as noisy as it was dirty.

Despite this, Westwind Restaurants could be found across every commandery and county; streets and alleys. Westwind Restaurant was so famous that there wasn’t a soul who hadn’t heard about it, and the unruly people of the

jianghu

loved nothing more than to take a dip in one of these inns all the time.

The reason was very simple. It was because Westwind Restaurant was a franchise opened by the most famous killer organization and intelligence organization of Wei, Westwind.

“The west wind rises, the autumn chills. When the yellow daylily thins, it is time to say goodbye.” The quote was a direct reference to Westwind.

On the surface, the quote sounded elegant and poetic. However, a simple translation revealed a completely different story: “When a killer of Westwind shows up, the cold grows omnipresent and invasive like autumn. Never again shall the one being pursued enjoy a good night’s rest, growing thinner than a yellow daylily until they finally, inevitably, have an audience with the inescapable death.”

Cruel, cold, and merciless. That was what Westwind was.

Westwind had established two organizations. One of them was the Westwind Inn, and the other the Westwind Restaurant. Westwind Restaurant was the front and mainly responsible for collecting and sorting out information. Westwind Inn was the back and mainly responsible for carrying out assassinations.

This was why Westwind Restaurants were everywhere in Wei. Everyone was welcomed, and any activity such as drinking, trading, inquiring and more were allowed.

On the other hand, Westwind Inns also boasted plenty of branches in many places, but it was well-concealed and not available to anyone. Only the wealthy, influential, and strong seeking to hire a killer or request them to perform a job were allowed to enter.

Technically speaking, the method to enter the Westwind Inn was very simple. First, the client would inform a Westwind Restaurant shopkeeper about their request and pay a certain amount of deposit. Then, the shopkeeper would notify the Westwind Inn about this. Once a member of the Westwind Inn had received the notification, they would dispatch a horse carriage at midnight. The carriage would take the client to the Westwind Inn where they could discuss the job in detail.

Theoretically speaking, Westwind Inn and Westwind Restaurant shared a boss-subordinate relationship with each other. The Westwind Inn was the boss, and the Westwind Restaurant the subordinate. In reality, they were two halves a whole. Both organizations complemented each other, and neither organization could function without one another.

Usually, killer organizations and assassin sects were the most hated factions in the

jianghu

bar none. After all, people who conducted such businesses usually had zero regard for compassion, morality, or justice. Profit was their one and only heaven. Naturally, people loathed factions like these and would like nothing more than to ruin them. This was also why such factions normally kept a low profile, hid in the shadows, and operated enigmatically. In this regard, Westwind was a complete and total anomaly.

The reason this was possible was simple. Westwind was strong. Very strong.

Back to the subject of Westwind Restaurant, there were two major reasons why the establishment was so popular. One, Westind Restaurant wasn’t just a restaurant, but also a place to trade information. The information was usually quite up to date as well. That was why some

jianghu

people preferred to visit the Westwind Restaurant either to get lucky or to exchange information with each other. This was a healthy state of things for the Westwind Restaurant.

The second reason was that fighting was strictly forbidden within the Westwind Restaurant. To break the rule was to challenge Westwind and be hunted like a dog. Because of this, Westwind Restaurant was generally a safe place barring exceptional circumstances.

Thanks to these two reasons, Westwind Restaurant became one of the favorite places of the

jianghu

over time.

Dawn had just broken, but Westwind Inn was already bustling with people and activity.

Everyone was talking about two things and only two things though. The first was the death of Zhao Changming the Brocade Shirt Marquis, and the second was the emergence of the Earthly Sovereign Bell.

Of course, the two things were intricately connected to one another, so they could really be treated as one.

“Did you hear? Zhao Changming is dead!”

“You don’t say? The entire

jianghu

is talking about this!”

“Does that mean that the rumors regarding the Earthly Sovereign Bell are real?!”

“Of course it is. According to the survivors of Myriad Buddha Town, Zhao Changming himself had asked the question, and that man seemed to have admitted it.”

“Tsk tsk, the Earthly Sovereign Bell, huh? If only I can take it for myself. That’s the Dao artifact of the Earthly Sovereign, man!”

“Dude... look at yourself. Do you seriously think there’s a sliver of a chance you could get the Earthly Sovereign Bell? Even Zhao Changming is no match for the guy. With how weak you are, I bet he could sneeze you into dust if he wanted to.”

“He’s not exaggerating. I heard that the guy possessing the Earthly Sovereign Bell is a Great Grandmaster, and he pummeled Zhao Changming to death with his bare fists. His bare fists! All that was left of Zhao Changming was a patch of human skin when he was done with him. His insides had been completely

annihilated

by fist intent! That is one helluva way to go!”

“Really? That’s terrible!”

“Can’t lie to you even if I tried. Two days ago, I purposely paid Myriad Buddha Town a visit just to see if the rumors are true. The entire place had been turned into a rubble, and the fist intent and the energies from their clash are still lingering even now.”

“Huh? When did you go there, Old Wu? By the way, I heard that some people managed to learn a hint of fist intent from the leftover energies and fist intent and grow way stronger than they were before. Some people are even using the pressure to hone their cultivation and mind. Since you were there, did you learn anything?”

“Ahem. Sorry to disappoint you, but I started vomiting blood after I got about three hundred meters to the battlefield. So er, I didn’t dare to go further.”

“You’re useless, Old Wu!”

“Fuck you! You can go there yourself if you dare! I dare say that you might fare worse than me!”

It was at this moment a youngster sipping wine next to their table asked smilingly, “Hey brother, can I ask you something? You guys have been saying ‘that guy’ for a long time, but do you know who he is? Do you know his name, for starters?”

The questioned person turned around and eyed the wine in the youngster’s cup for a second. It was obviously not the cheap, hot liquor they were drinking. In fact, it was the Westwind Restaurant’s famous wine, the Westwind Hunt.

In fact, Westwind Restaurant didn’t just sell one type of wine. For example, Westwind Hunt was a delicious, rare wine.

However, it was also extremely expensive. Even the cheap, hot liquor they were drinking were priced at one silver per jar, so the Westwind Hunt could only be more expensive. Specifically, it cost ten silver per jar.

Only a wealthy person could afford such a ridiculous luxury.

Although

jianghu

people generally had some money in their pockets, they weren’t so rich that they could drink money like water. That was why the questioned person felt dejected as soon as he saw the wine.

The youngster was a smart one though. As soon as he saw his dejection, he immediately poured him a cup of Westwind Hunt.