'The f*ck is that supposed to mean?' Ning thought when he heard Elder Neal speak just now.
"Isn't that right, Attendant Ning? You can give this man 3 gold coins right. It's for the treatment after all," Elder Neal said.
"I only helped a mother in need, Elder Neal. This person can easily go out and earn his own money to pay. Besides, he is a cultivator; he should have stuff he could pawn in if needed," Ning said.
"Oh, but I thought you were a righteous savior who helped all, Attendant Ning. Was I wrong? Was it only just because the previous one was a woman?" Elder Neal said.
'Damn, this man definitely wanted something that I got in the way of. What thought?' Ning wondered.
He started looking through the different things that happened in the room until now, the increased cost of medicine, the terror he put the woman through… there was definitely some purpose there. Ning then finally realized it.
'M*therf**ker! quite literally. This man wanted the mother just now. So he made it so that she was in his debt and would blackmail her. No wonder he is angry at me for ruining his chances. F*ck this guy,' Ning thought.
Ning turned to the man with the broken arm and asked, "How many golds did you say you had? 7?"
"Yes," the man nodded.
Ning then checked his cultivation base and realized that he was in Qi Condensation 8th realm. 'What the F*ck? He is stronger than me and he doesn't have more than 7 gold coins?' he thought.
"What sect are you from?" Ning asked.
"I don't have a sect. I'm a rogue cultivator who only focuses on cultivation," he said.
"And you don't earn money?" Ning asked.
"Only what is required for daily living," the man said.
'F*ck, what should I do now?' Ning frowned. He could just say that he wouldn't help him and the man could find other ways to pay, but that would make Elder Neal win, and if he did decide to pay for the man, that would make Elder Neal rich.
Both outcomes he didn't want to happen.
'F*ck it, here goes nothing,' Ning said and did the only option that was left for him.
"Your 7 coins are enough, don't worry. Your treatment only cost 6 gold coins. Just hand them over to Elder Neal and you can leave," Ning said.
"What are you talking about, Attendant Neal?" Elder Neal got angry.
"Please teach me if I made any mistakes Elder Neal," Ning said, making himself look innocent.
"You said my treatment costs 6 gold coins? Are you trying to bankrupt me?" Elder Neal asked.
"Certainly not. I was just telling the patient exactly how much the treatment cost," Ning said.
The man with the broken arm was catching on to the subtle feud between them by now and got curious himself. "Physician Neal, how much did you say my treatment cost?" he asked.
"10 gold coins," Elder Neal said with an air of haughtiness.
"Then why does your attendant say it costs 6 gold coins?" he asked.
"He doesn't know what he is saying. This is his first time working in the guild, so he is a little confused about everything," Elder Neal said.
"Is that so? Would you mind telling me the costs of everything involved then, if you don't mind," the man said.
Elder Neal frowned a little, but still said," Very well. Of the 10 gold coins 8 come from the ingredients, and the next 2 from labor charges."
The man then turned to Ning and asked, "Young man, why did you say it costs 6 coins?" he asked.
"It's simple actually. He was right about the 2 gold coin labor costs, but the ingredients only cost 4 coins. Blazing Chicken's Feathers cost 12 copper coins, Spirit Pear's vine cost 2 silver coins, Demon Caterpillar's precious silk costs 13 silver coins, 18 silver for ground-up Tetraheaded snake's skins, 8 copper coins for Hanging tree's sap, and 5 silver coins for upside-down gourd water,"
"For a total of 4 gold coins," Ning said.
Elder Neal was dumbfounded. 'How the hell does a newbie know the exact price of the ingredients,' he angrily thought.
"Don't listen to him, he's a newbie. He doesn't know anything about the market," Elder Neal frantically said.
"Is he wrong about the ingredients?" the man asked.
"Y-Yes, of course. He named all the ingredients wrong," Elder Neal said.
"Oh, then why did you say that he didn't know anything about the market when you should have instead said that he got the ingredients wrong?" the man asked.
"I— that— " Elder Neal couldn't come up with an explanation.
The man said nothing more and took out 6 gold coins and handed them to the elder. He then turned to Ning and nodded before leaving through the doorway.
Ning smiled and followed the man as he and Samod took the man all the way to the registration hall.
Only after reaching there did he finally speak. "Thank you, young man. If not for you, I would've been swindled out of my hard-earned money today," he said.
"It's fine. I couldn't stand and see such an injustice being done in front of my eyes," Ning lied. 'F*ck that old man. He got what he deserved,' he thought internally.
"You can go back to your job. I will be here for a little longer. I will complain to the old man to the guild and see if something happens. Thank you once more," he said.
"It's fine. I was just speaking up what I knew," Ning said and watched the man go to the registration to file the complaint.
Only then did Samod finally come up to Ning and said, "Brother Ning, you should not have done what you did. Elder Neal can be a little… bad at times, but going against him was not a good idea. Especially, if you ever want to become a physician yourself."