104: Ingredient Price

“What the f*ck does this mean?” Ning thought as he heard Elder Neil speak.

“Right, Attendant Ning? You can give this person 3 gold coins, yes, this is after all a treatment fee,” Elder Neil said.

“I was just helping a mother in need, Elder Neil. This person can easily go out and earn his own money to pay. Besides, he is a cultivator; he should have something he can use if needed,” Ning said.

“Oh, but I thought you were a righteous savior who helps everyone, Attendant Ning, was I wrong? Is it just because the last one was a woman?” Elder Neil said.

“Damn, this person must want something, and I’m getting in the way. What’s the idea?” Ning wondered.

He began to review the different things that had happened in the room until now, the increase in the cost of medicine, the fear he had instilled in that woman… There must be some purpose there. Ning finally realized.

“Motherf*cker! It’s completely literal. This person just wanted that mother. So he made her owe him a favor, then blackmailed her. No wonder he was angry that I ruined his chance. F*ck this guy,” Ning thought.

Ning turned around and asked the person with the broken arm, “You said you have how many gold coins? 7?” “Yes,” the person nodded.

Ning checked his cultivation base again and found that he was at the eighth stage of Qi Condensation.

“Which 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.

“Just what’s needed for daily life,” the man said.

“What should I do now?” Ning frowned. He could have said he wouldn’t help this man, that this man could find other ways to pay, but that would let Elder Neil win, and if he decided to pay for this man, that would make Elder Neil richer.

He didn’t want either of these outcomes to happen.

“Forget it, nothing will happen here,” Ning said, doing the only choice left to him.

“Your 7 gold coins are enough, don’t worry.

Your treatment only cost 6 gold coins.

Just give them to Elder Neil, and you can leave,” Ning said.

“What are you saying, Attendant Ning?” Elder Neil was angry.

“If I made any mistakes, please teach me, Elder Neil,” Ning said, feigning innocence.

“You said my treatment costs 6 gold coins?

Are you trying to bankrupt me?” Elder Neil said.

“Of course not, I’m just telling the patient the exact price of the medicine,” Ning said.

The person with the broken arm now understood the subtle conflict between them, and he himself became curious. “Doctor Neil, how much did you say my treatment cost?” he asked.

“Ten gold coins,” the Old man Neil said with an arrogant expression.

“Then why did your attendant say it would cost 6 gold coins?” he asked.

“He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. This is his first time working in the guild, so he’s a bit confused about everything,” Elder Neil said.

“Is that so? If you don’t mind, would you mind telling me all the costs involved?” the person said.

Elder Neil frowned but still said, “Very well. 8 of these 10 gold coins come from raw materials, and the next 2 come from labor costs.”

The person then turned to Ning and asked, “Young man, why did you say it would cost 6 coins?” he asked.

“It’s actually very simple. Regarding the labor cost of 2 gold coins, he is right, but the raw materials only cost 4 gold coins. Burnt chicken feathers cost 12 copper coins, Spirit Pear Vine cost 2 silver coins, Devil Caterpillar’s precious silk cost 13 silver coins, Ground Four-Headed Snake Skin cost 18 silver coins, Hanging Tree Sap cost 8 silver coins, and Inverted Gourd Water cost 5 silver coins.

“A total of 4 gold coins,” Ning said.

Elder Neil was stunned. “How does a novice know the exact price of raw materials?” he thought angrily.

“Don’t listen to him, he’s a novice and knows nothing about the market,” Elder Neil said frantically.

“Was he wrong about the ingredients?” the person asked.

“Yes, of course. He got all the raw materials wrong,” Elder Neil said.

“Oh, then why did you say he knows nothing about the market, when you should have said he got the raw materials wrong?” the person asked.

“I—that—” Elder Neil couldn’t come up with an explanation.

The person didn’t say anything more, took out 6 gold coins, handed them to the Elder, then turned and nodded to Ning, and left through the door.

Ning smiled and followed the person, and he and Samode led the person all the way to the registration hall.

Once there, he finally spoke: “Thank you, young man, if it weren’t for you, all the money I worked so hard to earn today would have been swindled away.” “It’s nothing. I can’t just stand by and watch such injustice happen,” Ning lied, “Go to hell, that Old man, he got what he deserved.”

“You can go back to work, I’ll stay here a bit longer, I’ll go to the guild and complain to the Old man to see if anything happens, thank you again,” he said.

“It’s nothing, I just said what I knew,” Ning said, watching the man go to the registration desk to complain.

It wasn’t until then that Samode walked up to Ning and said to him, “Brother Ning, you shouldn’t have done that. Elder Neil can sometimes be a bit… not good, but it’s not a good idea to go against him, especially if you yourself want to become a physician.”