Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 263

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 263
Accepting a bit of silver under the table was something I could overlook—it fell within the range of acceptable conduct.
After all, I wasn’t some warrior living and breathing for the prosperity of the Hua Empire. My only wish was to reach my destination safely without any troublesome complications during this medical visit.
This wasn’t the modern era, and I was well aware that such petty sums in this age hardly qualified as corruption worth mentioning.
But laying hands on the bounty and my horse? That I could not tolerate!
‘What? Why are you taking my money?’
The moment I realized they were about to rob Hwang-gu’s snack fund right before my eyes, I stepped forward.
“Hold on!”
From the darkness at the back of the group, a handsome young man suddenly burst forward.
He was striking enough that his face would linger in memory at a glance—but that was all I could discern.
On a moonless night, torchlight alone barely allowed me to guess he was a martial artist.
“What is it?”
I assumed that a martial artist who had traveled this far and joined a courier escort was unlikely to be some young master from a prominent clan, so I spoke to him casually.
“I defeated the bandits. Shouldn’t I receive the bounty?”
“How dare you presume—”
‘This is intolerable. These fools have no sense.’
I could overlook injustice before my eyes, but I could not abide someone stealing my companion’s treat money. I removed the bracelet from my wrist.
‘These bastards dare try to steal Hwang-gu’s snacks?!’
Then I lifted it lightly.
The torchlight reflected off the golden dragon, casting a brilliant glow. No official in the Hua Empire was ignorant of what the golden dragon symbolized.
“A-an Inspector!”
An Inspector—and one bearing the insignia of the Emperor’s personal inspectorate, no less.
The bracelet I had received after treating Eun Wang-ya, told to use it whenever necessary.
In reality, I had only used it when borrowing horses at relay stations.
As the bracelet, hidden beneath my long sleeves until now, came into view, even the Yunlong Courier Bureau escorts’ eyes nearly bulged from their sockets.
“Everyone dismount! Now!”
At the White Insignia’s command, the other soldiers hastily climbed down from their horses.
Thud!
“We greet the Inspector!”
“We greet the Inspector!”
“We greet the—!”
The sight of the soldiers prostrating in unison was quite a spectacle.
And for good reason.
I had just witnessed them attempting to accept bribes and conceal merit right before my eyes.
Worse still, the bandits they had captured were not ones the courier bureau had apprehended—they were bandits I had personally defeated.
Puff!
For some reason, Hwang-gu sat down before the prostrating soldiers and puffed out his chest proudly.
It looked as though they were bowing to a dog, but no one seemed to mind.
“So then, White Insignia—what exactly were you attempting to do?”
My gentle question made the White Insignia’s face flush crimson.
“I… well… we were planning to transport a bandit gang instead. There was absolutely no other intention behind it.”
“I see. Then what were those silver coins you just received?”
“S-silver coins, you say!”
“Didn’t you extort money from innocent commoners?”
“N-no, no, absolutely not!”
“I see, you say not~ But no matter how I look at it, those shiny things are definitely silver coins, aren’t they?”
“H-huh… that is…”
“Surely the White Insignia wouldn’t lie in front of an Inspector, would you?”
“…Y-yes…”
I had intended to let it slide and move on, finding the whole affair tedious and bothersome.
But now that it’s come to this, I plan to grill him until we arrive.
Growl!
Hwang-gu suddenly urinated on the White Insignia’s foot.
Splash—
As the White Insignia tried to brush Hwang-gu away, I asked him a question.
“Surely you’re not trying to relax your stance right in front of an Inspector, are you? Did I see that correctly?”
Clang!
“N-no! How could I ever relax my stance without permission in front of an Inspector appointed by His Majesty!”
Hwang-gu returned to his master, hoping for praise.
Pant, pant, pant—
I scratched under Hwang-gu’s chin affectionately.
* * *
I entered Wannong, the border checkpoint at the empire’s frontier, comfortably under military escort.
Throughout the journey to Wannong, the people of the Yunlong Courier Bureau gazed upon me as if welcoming a deity.
And for good reason.
The White Dragon in White was famous not for his connections to the imperial court or the credentials of an Inspector—those were stories only the high-ranking knew—but for his medical skills, his culinary prowess, his victory at the Dragon-Phoenix Conference, and his reputation in the martial world for defeating the Hyeolseonggyo.
The imperial connections and the Inspector’s credentials were tales only the nobility were aware of.
Thus I arrived safely at Wannong, a trading city on the border between the empire and the Kingdom of Dadu at the very edge of the realm.
A beautiful city gate made of pure white marble came into view.
‘Wow… how exotic.’
Though it was technically part of the Hwa Empire, the trading city was clearly influenced by architectural styles from beyond the borders.
Sure enough, merchants dressed in Western garb and martial artists dressed in Southern fashion filled the streets.
Various races and merchants mingled together as they passed through the city gate.
“We’ve been waiting for you!”
Had word already reached them?
I dismounted from my horse and greeted the White Insignia behind me.
“Sir! I merely did my duty as a soldier of His Majesty!”
‘He certainly knows how to talk.’
For a moment I considered letting him off, but since he coveted Hwang-gu’s snack allowance, I showed no mercy.
I had already memorized the scoundrel’s name.
The guard, unaware of the situation, looked slightly puzzled at the relationship between the two before eventually guiding Jin Cheon-hee forward.
Beyond the pristine marble city gates lay a dazzlingly beautiful oasis surrounded by lavish mansions built for leisure.
Below that stretched a marketplace where merchants from the Central Plains and foreign traders mingled, hawking their wares.
‘The scenery is quite beautiful, I must admit.’
Unnamed large birds fluttered across the oasis in unison.
Witnessing a landscape I never thought I’d see in the martial arts world, my heart tingled with an inexplicable excitement.
The guard led me toward the cluster of leisure villas.
We passed through mansions that blended Central Plains architecture with foreign styles and arrived at a destination.
It was the most luxurious residence at the end of the path.
‘Wow… what kind of people live in such a magnificent place?’
As a modern person, I envy living comfortably in such a grand mansion more than having slightly greater inner strength.
Even on modern Earth, class mobility is difficult, so in a hierarchical world, parents are definitely born with silver spoons, and their children inherit them too.
“Please go right in.”
‘It seems the escort won’t guide me any further.’
As I entered alone, not a single servant was visible—the place was completely empty.
The gardens and floors clearly showed signs of maintenance, yet the absence of people was eerie.
Feeling as though enchanted by a goblin, I walked deeper into the garden when I heard the sound of a guqin being played.
‘They say Ju Wang’s skill with the seven-stringed guqin is exceptional.’
During her days lost in indulgence, countless entertainers’ hearts supposedly ignited at the sound of her playing.
The music I heard now was not the sort one would play in a pleasure house, but rather what a scholar or scholar-official would play.
Following the sound, I found Eun Wang-ya sitting there, plucking the strings.
She was concentrating, and I hesitated whether to show respect or wait until she finished playing, when Eun Wang-ya finally spoke.
“Even on such a peaceful journey, you still manage to cause trouble.”
“Ha ha ha…”
As I began to assume a respectful prostrate position again, Eun Wang-ya spoke without even looking at me.
“Stop that. There’s no need for it now.”
I knew it would be like this.
I slowly straightened my knees again. Watching this, Eun Wang-ya clicked her tongue.
“The more I see you, the more shameless you become.”
“Hehe.”
Twang—
Each note produced by the seven-stringed guqin had a peculiar power to move the heart.
After finishing the piece, Eun Wang-ya rose to her feet.
“You’re not wearing a mask?”
“Being close to foreign lands, there are no civil or military ministers here, nor martial artists connected to the imperial family. It’s freedom after a long time.”
Compared to when I last saw her, her complexion was healthier and her body more toned.
‘Yet not a single servant is visible—can it truly be called complete freedom?’
Still, why was it…
…that I kept feeling as though someone was watching me?
As I glanced around nervously, Eun Wang-ya burst into laughter.
“So you’ve become able to sense the ‘Shadows,’ have you?”
“Shadows?”
“The imperial guard that follows the Emperor. In previous generations, they were called various names like ‘Dark Dragon’ or ‘Shadow Squad,’ but I simply call them ‘Shadows.'”
“Even so, I cannot pinpoint their location. I can barely sense their gaze.”
There was no point in bluffing before the Emperor. I spoke honestly.
“In truth, it’s unusual that you could sense them at your current martial level. Even Hwang-gu hasn’t noticed them at all.”
Whimper.
Hwang-gu’s ears drooped dejectedly.
I stroked Hwang-gu’s forehead.
Eun Wang-ya spoke.
“You must have already surmised that the imperial family, as descendants of Taeho Bokhi, has governed the empire and conducted extensive research. These ‘Shadows’ were created to check both imperial bloodline members and martial artists with supernatural abilities.”
Eun Wang-ya spoke of the ‘Shadows’ in an oddly objectifying manner.
“They are… people, aren’t they?”
“Who can say? Can such beings truly be called people? The only way to confirm what the ‘Shadows’ are is to assassinate me. Should that occur, you would certainly die, so I cannot recommend it. I cannot afford to lose my personal physician.”
‘Well… there are some things in this world better left unknown.’
In martial arts novels, the government and martial world are separated, so the imperial family rarely appears—or so they say. But that’s ancient history in the new age of martial arts fiction.
Depending on the work, there are stories where the protagonist directly severs the Emperor’s neck or actively seizes power to change the world.
In such tales, the dark underbelly of the imperial family always emerges. The crystallization of forbidden knowledge.
The ultimate assassin or emotionless killing automaton… such clichés always appear.
The protagonist then cuts down the Emperor who has become the hidden special final boss, and vanishes gracefully—but that’s merely the stuff of martial arts novels.
‘There was a time when even I would say that if reincarnation, possession, or rebirth appeared, it wasn’t a martial arts novel.’
When government officials or royalty appeared in stories, the gatekeepers of martial arts fiction—those stern arbiters—would cry out: “What! You fools! How dare martial arts protagonists collude with the government? This is not martial arts fiction!” They were like the great reformers of their genre.
…But after filtering out all such works, there were no new stories left.
And the few young people entering martial arts fiction preferred reincarnation, possession, and rebirth.
So this middle-aged Jin Cheon-hee quietly set aside his old sensibilities.
And watching new-age martial arts and fusion martial arts fiction,
‘Sifu! Jump onto the rooftop!’
‘Server! Bring me the menu!’
‘Shifu. These are gloves made from heavenly silkworm silk!’
…he found himself able to tolerate such descriptions.
For someone like me, hidden secrets and forbidden imperial royal blood mysteries hardly mattered.
‘Wow, it’s been a while since I felt so little curiosity.’
I spoke with cold, indifferent eyes.
“Shall I take your pulse first…?”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————