Prejudice Never Fails to Show Up

Before dawn, Bunir had already helped his father to the entrance of Church Hospital, where they joined the long line.

The summer dawn still carried a trace of chill.

The poor old father, despite being wrapped in a thick coat, coughed twice from time to time, tugging at the heartstrings.

"Bunir, stop looking. Let's go home. This illness of mine can't be treated anyway. You'll only be wasting your time and delaying your work."

Even after arriving, his father continued to ramble on about refusing treatment.

"All right, we're already here. Why are you saying that?"

Hearing this, Bunir couldn't help feeling a trace of irritation well up in his chest.

His father was always like this—"such a nuisance."

When his heart had first begun to feel unwell, he hadn't told anyone. He had merely started going to church to pray much more often.

The family was busy making a living and hadn't noticed.

Until one day, his father suddenly suffered an attack while working. Only then did the family realize that he had been sick for a long time.

The family was poor and couldn't afford a private clinic.

They could only come to Church Hospital.

In fact, his father hadn't even wanted to come to Church Hospital.

He always felt that the "demon of illness" was God's punishment for the sins he had committed.

Going to the hospital would only make the neighbors think he had committed some sin, which would make him even more ashamed to show his face.

In the end, it was only after Bunir and his sister repeatedly urged him that they had barely managed to persuade him to come.

However, the diagnosis plunged the entire family into despair.

—The Church Physician said that his father's illness was incurable and that he could only take medicine to delay its progress.

"Taking some medicine to ease it is better than nothing. One dose can last three days. That's still better than stubbornly enduring it at home, isn't it?"

Seeing his father's speechless expression, Bunir softened his tone again.

Because Church Hospital treated people for free, its medicine supply was extremely limited. In addition, to prevent lost sheep from reselling the medicine, the hospital only prescribed one to three days' worth at a time.

That was the fundamental reason Bunir continued lining up even though he knew his father's illness couldn't be cured.

Time slowly passed amid the agonizing wait.

The line behind them grew longer and longer.

—No matter how devout one's faith was, it still couldn't overcome the fear of death.

At last, when the bell tower rang seven times, the outpatient entrance of Church Hospital finally opened slowly.

Several older nuns led the youngest nuns, some only eight or nine years old, in standing at the entrance to maintain order as they began another busy day.

Bunir had arrived early and obtained a number ticket ahead of time. Supporting his father, he headed for Sister Angela's examination room.

"Sister Angela, sorry for the trouble."

As soon as Bunir entered, he pasted on a smile, his face full of apology.

He had already brought his father here to collect medicine many times. To be honest, setting aside the gossip of the neighbors, he felt deeply embarrassed himself.

"Oh, you came at just the right time! The famous doctor I told you about has just reported for duty today. Come on, I'll take you to him."

Angela, who had been sitting before the examination desk, rose excitedly. Without giving them a chance to refuse, she prepared to introduce Bunir's father to Arthur.

In truth, she also wanted to see what insight Arthur had into diagnosing and treating Bunir's father's illness!

She had a premonition that Arthur could definitely cure Bunir's father.

"Really? Oh, thank you so much, Sister Angela."

Bunir was overjoyed. He quickly helped his father along and followed Sister Angela to an examination room diagonally across the hall.

"Oh, right, I forgot to introduce him. His name is Arthur. You can call him Physician Arthur. His medical skills are particularly impressive..."

Angela excitedly introduced him as she pushed open Arthur's door.

Bunir's face, full of anticipation, suddenly stiffened as he reached the doorway.

Inside the plain white examination room, a young man with black hair and black eyes sat beside the desk. A book lay on the tabletop.

"Sister Angela, he—he's Physician Arthur?" Bunir asked, his face somewhat rigid.

"That's right!"

Angela still hadn't realized anything was wrong. She nodded firmly and said to Ning Xiuyuan:

"Arthur, this is the uncle I mentioned to you before. His heart isn't doing well. Even the use of 'special-effect' medicine hasn't helped him, so take a look at him!"

Ning Xiuyuan nodded, a strange feeling rising in his heart.

Back on Earth, he had never in eight lifetimes had anything to do with the profession of doctor. Yet now he was sitting openly before an examination desk, having become a "famous doctor"?

The feeling was too absurd, too bizarre!

"Oh my God, that black-eyed... demon—why is he sitting there? Could he be a physician?"

"Judging from Sister Angela's words, he really does seem to be a physician."

The patients lining up outside Angela's examination room saw Angela lead the father and son into Ning Xiuyuan's room and immediately began looking over curiously.

When they realized that an alien was sitting inside, and that he was apparently a physician judging from the conversation, they were all shocked and began discussing it animatedly.

"Do savages from an alien race know medicine?"

"He's even reading a book. I've never seen another physician read books while working. He must have only just started learning, right?"

"Exactly. Isn't this just treating human lives like weeds?"

"I heard he isn't even a believer of our Lord. His Excellency the Bishop took pity on him, sheltered him, and made him a lamp-keeping servant at the church."

"How did a lamp-keeping servant suddenly become a physician? This—this is too absurd."

"Bunir, I'm telling you, don't let him treat your father. Your father is a believer of the Lord. How can you let a demon treat him?"

Faced with Angela's enthusiastic words, Nibel had originally intended to let his father give it a try. But after hearing the believers behind him, especially that last sentence, his resolve completely collapsed.

"Sister Angela, you said it yourself—my father's illness... is all according to the Lord's will. I only came to get some medicine. Could you prescribe us some?"

Bunir chose his words carefully, tactfully refusing Arthur's treatment.

Angela, who had been extremely excited, immediately froze.

She subconsciously glanced at Ning Xiuyuan and couldn't help saying, "Arthur's medical skills are truly extraordinary. I swear on my faith..."

Before she could finish, Ning Xiuyuan interrupted her.

"Sister Angela, God said that one shouldn't make promises lightly, nor swear oaths recklessly. My medical skills are quite limited. You don't need to defend me anymore."

Ning Xiuyuan spoke sincerely.

To be honest, he had anticipated the patients' reaction.

Leaving aside the general aversion patients felt toward young, inexperienced doctors;

putting himself in their place, if he went to see a traditional Chinese doctor and suddenly found some old Black or old White man squatting solemnly behind the examination desk, he would probably be just as bewildered.

What was more, the natives here had never seen anyone of a race like his. Their aversion would only be stronger.

"This..." Angela hesitated. As kindhearted as she was, she suddenly felt somewhat indignant.

"Go on and get to work. Time will prove everything." Ning Xiuyuan comforted her, not wanting to make things too awkward.

"Yes. Time will prove everything."

Those words shook Angela. She nodded solemnly in response.

She no longer tried to persuade Nibel. Turning around, she left Ning Xiuyuan's examination room.

Nibel also hurriedly helped his father and followed her out.

The patients lining up at the door watched this scene and couldn't help discussing it again.

"Listen to that! He admitted it himself—his medical skills are very limited!"

"Exactly. I really wonder how he became a physician."

"Maybe he really does know a little medicine?"

"Whether he knows anything or not, I'm not going."

"Me neither."

The patients in line whispered among themselves. This fresh incident immediately became a topic of conversation in the dull queue, spreading from outside Angela's examination room through the long line stretching outside.

"Hey, what happened?"

"I heard a new physician has arrived!"

"Really? How are his medical skills?"

"Don't ask. It's that alien—the black-eyed alien! Who knows how a lamp-keeping servant suddenly became a physician?"

"I heard he's the embodiment of a demon. Could the church priest have been bewitched by him?"

"Once I've seen the doctor, I'm definitely going to the church and warn them."

"Right, I heard that a few days ago, he even killed several priests!"

"There was such a thing?"

The topic of the black-eyed alien completely set off the otherwise dull line.

Everyone leaned close together, gesticulating animatedly as they discussed rumors they had heard around town.

The braggarts were tremendously satisfied with themselves when they saw the audience's shocked and astonished expressions.

Just look!

See how well-informed I am!

See how much I've experienced!

To draw even more exclamations and sighs, they didn't hesitate to embellish, fabricate, and invent details.

Phrases beginning with "I have a relative who's a priest," "I heard it from a friend," and "They say" became increasingly common.

As for the listeners, hearing about things they normally had no chance of encountering in their daily lives left them shocked and made them feel as though they had broadened their horizons. Their curiosity was thoroughly satisfied.

For a time, it even seemed as if their illnesses had eased somewhat.

Just as everyone was talking over one another, the line ahead suddenly erupted in an uproar.

"What happened?"

"What's going on?"

The patients at the back of the line looked on curiously. They stepped aside, rose onto their toes, craned their necks to look, and asked one another what had happened.

Soon, an astonishing and absurd piece of news came from the front of the line.

That black-eyed alien had actually hung a wooden sign outside the door.

The sign clearly read:

My medical skills are limited. Limited to ten patients per day.

—Arthur.