Prejudice Is Never Absent

Before dawn, Bunir was already supporting his father as they joined a long queue in front of the Church Hospital.

The summer dawn still carried a hint of chill.

The poor old father, even wrapped in a thick coat, coughed a couple of times intermittently, which was heartbreaking to witness.

"Bunir, don't look anymore, let's go home. My illness can't be cured anyway, it's a waste of effort and it'll delay your work."

Even though they had arrived, his father still kept mumbling his refusal to see a doctor.

"Alright, we're already here, why say such things?"

Upon hearing this, Bunir couldn't help but feel a surge of irritation.

His father was always so "annoying."

When his heart first started feeling uncomfortable, he didn't tell anyone, only that his frequency of going to church to pray had significantly increased.

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

It wasn't until one day when his father suddenly fell ill while working that the family realized he had been sick for a long time.

The family was poor and couldn't afford private clinics.

They could only come to the Church Hospital.

In reality, even coming to the Church Hospital, his father was still quite unwilling.

He always felt that the "disease demon" was God's punishment for his sins.

Going to the hospital would only make the neighbors think he had committed sins, which would make him unable to hold his head up even more.

It was only after Bunir and his sister's repeated persuasion that they managed to convince him.

However, the diagnosis plunged their family into despair.

— The Church Physician said that his father's illness was incurable and could only be slowed down with medication.

"It's good to get some medicine to ease it. It can last for three days at a time, which is better than enduring it at home,"

Seeing his father's silent and hesitant expression, Bunir's tone softened again.

Due to providing free medical care, the Church Hospital had very limited medication supplies. Additionally, to prevent the lost sheep from selling the medication privately, they would only prescribe one to three days' worth of medication at a time.

This was the fundamental reason why Bunir, knowing his father's illness was incurable, still came to queue.

Time slowly passed in agonizing waiting.

The line behind them also grew longer and longer.

— Even the most devout faith couldn't overcome the fear of death.

Finally, when the bell tower chimed seven o'clock, the outpatient entrance of the Church Hospital slowly opened.

Several older nuns, along with younger nuns as young as eight or nine, stood at the entrance maintaining order, starting their busy day.

Bunir arrived early, got a number tag, and supported his father as they headed to Sister Angela's consultation room.

"Sister Angela, sorry to bother you."

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

He had brought his father here repeatedly to collect medication, and frankly, setting aside the gossip from the neighbors, he felt very embarrassed himself.

"Oh, you've come at the right time! The famous doctor I mentioned to you is reporting for duty today. Come, I'll take you there."

Angela, sitting at the examination table, stood up excitedly and, without further ado, intended to introduce Bunir's father to Arthur.

In fact, she also wanted to see Arthur's insightful diagnosis and treatment for Bunir's illness!

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

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

Bunir was overjoyed. He quickly supported his father and followed Sister Angela to a consultation room diagonally opposite.

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

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

Bunir, who had been full of anticipation, froze the moment he reached the doorway.

Inside the plain white consultation room, a young man with black hair and black eyes was sitting by the desk, with a book placed on the table.

"Sister Angela, he, he is Physician Arthur?" Bunir asked, his face stiffening slightly.

"Yes!"

Angela, not realizing anything was amiss, nodded solemnly and said to Ning Xiuyuan, "Arthur, this is the uncle I mentioned to you before. His heart isn't very good. Even with 'special effect' medication, it's of no use. Please take a look at him!"

Ning Xiuyuan nodded, a strange feeling arising within him.

On Earth, he had no connection to the medical profession whatsoever for eight lifetimes, and now he was sitting legitimately at an examination table, becoming a "famous doctor"?

This feeling was too absurd, too wondrous!

"My God, why is that black-eyed... devil sitting there? Could he be a physician?"

"According to Sister Angela, he really is a physician."

The patients queuing outside Sister Angela's examination room, seeing her bring the Nibuls and their son into Ning Xiuyuan's room, immediately peered in with curiosity.

When they discovered that the person inside was an alien, and by the sound of their conversation, a physician, they were all greatly alarmed and started discussing amongst themselves.

"Do alien barbarians even know medical skills?"

"He's still reading a book, too. I've never seen any other physician read a book. Is he just starting to learn?"

"Yeah, isn't this just trifling with people's lives!"

"I heard he's not even a Believer of my Lord. His Excellency the Bishop took pity on him and took him in, making him a lamp-keeping handyman at the church."

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

"Nibuls, let me tell you, you absolutely cannot let him treat your father. Your father is a Believer of the Lord, how can he let a devil treat him?"

Faced with Sister Angela's enthusiastic words, Nibuls, who had originally wanted to let his father try, heard the discussions of the Believers behind him, especially the last sentence, and his resolve completely crumbled.

"Sister Angela, as you said, my father's illness... it's all the Lord's will. I just came to get some medicine. Could you prescribe some for us?"

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

Angela, who had been very excited, suddenly froze.

She subconsciously glanced at Ning Xiuyuan and couldn't help but say, "Arthur's medical skill is truly superb, I swear on my faith..."

Before she could finish, Ning Xiuyuan interrupted her.

"Sister Angela, God says not to make easy promises, nor to swear rashly. My medical skills are very limited, so please don't defend me anymore."

Ning Xiuyuan said sincerely.

To be honest, he had already anticipated the patients' reactions.

Not to mention the general aversion patients have towards young new doctors;

If he put himself in their shoes, if he went to see a traditional Chinese physician and suddenly saw a black or white person squatting behind a stethoscope with a serious look, he'd probably be just as confused.

What's more, the natives here had never seen anyone of his race before, so their aversion would only be stronger.

"This..." Angela hesitated. Being kind as she always was, she suddenly felt a bit indignant.

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

"Yes, time will prove everything."

This sentence deeply moved Angela, and she nodded solemnly in response.

She no longer tried to persuade Nibuls and turned to leave Ning Xiuyuan's examination room.

Nibuls quickly helped his father and followed her out.

The patients queuing at the door watched this scene and couldn't help but start discussing again.

"Listen, he admitted it himself, his medical skills are very limited!"

"Yeah, I really don't know how he became a physician."

"Maybe he really knows some medical skills?"

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

"Me neither."

The patients in line whispered amongst themselves, and this new development immediately became a topic of conversation for the monotonous queue, spreading from the entrance of Sister Angela's examination room to the long line outside.

"Hey, what's going on?"

"I heard a new physician has arrived!"

"Really? How are his medical skills?"

"Don't even mention it, it's that alien, the black-eyed alien! I really don't know how a lamp-keeping handyman suddenly became a physician."

"They say he's an incarnation of the devil. The Church priests won't be tempted by him, right?"

"After my illness is cured, I must go to the church to remind them."

"By the way, I heard that a few days ago, he seemed to have caused the deaths of several priests!"

"There's such a thing?"

The topic of the black-eyed alien completely ignited the monotonous queue.

Everyone was talking to each other, discussing the hearsay and rumors with great animation.

The boastful ones, seeing the surprised and sighing expressions of their audience, felt their vanity greatly satisfied.

Look!

See how well-informed I am!

See how rich my experiences are!

To gain more astonishment and admiration, they even didn't hesitate to embellish and fabricate.

Phrases starting with "I have relatives who are priests," "I heard from a friend," and "It is said" became more and more common.

As for the audience, listening to things they would never encounter in their daily lives, they felt a sense of awe and enlightenment, their curiosity greatly satisfied.

For a moment, it seemed even their ailments receded.

As everyone chattered and debated, the queue ahead suddenly erupted in commotion.

"What's going on?"

"What happened?"

The patients at the back of the line, full of curiosity, shifted out of the queue, stood on tiptoe, craned their necks to look, and asked each other.

Soon, an astonishing and absurd message spread from the front of the line.

That black-eyed alien race had actually hung a wooden sign at the entrance.

The sign clearly read:

My medical skill is limited, I can only see ten people per day.

— Arthur.