"What about the other areas of the skull, like the forehead and else," Ning asked.
"Those are all surrounding by jungle with strong beasts. The two sects might not look eye to eye, but they work together to protect the rest of us from the beasts," the little kid said.
Ning asked a few more questions regarding the state of the city if there were any physicians in the city or not, and what was usually the accepted amount of gold and silver coins for various minor stuff.
According to the kid, while there were doctors, they were all expensive and normal people couldn't afford them at all. Aside from that, The things around here seemed to be priced about the same as the back in Starsight city.
As for the state of the city, the small kid didn't know any internal politics, only that the citizens were happy.
'I guess that's enough to know about the city,' he thought.
"Alright, last question before I pay you," Ning said. The kid looked at him in desire and expectation.
"Do tell me, why is a little girl like yourself trying to act like a boy and deceive the people you are working for?"
The little kid's eyes stopped showing all forms of emotion and suddenly, her face started getting pale. "W-W-What do y-you mean? I-I am a boy," she said.
"No need to hide kid. I'm a doctor, and can easily tell who is what. If you don't want to tell me why you are doing what you are doing, then it's okay. Here's 5 silver coins. You can leave," he said as he handed her her payment.
The girl took the 5 silver coins... Together with the one earlier, she had been paid 6 silver coins. She hesitated between staying and leaving.
Ning saw that and asked, "What's the matter?"
"Um… are you really a doctor?" she asked.
"Yes, I am," Ning said.
"Um… how… How much do you cost?" she asked timidly.
"Hmm… that would depend on the injury and the different materials that would have to be spent during the treatment, so I can't tell you exactly right now," he said.
"Um… what about a paralysis? How much would that cost?" she asked.
"Paralysis. I would have to check the patient. There are many causes of paralysis. Some can end up costing over 20 gold coins," Ning said. The little girl's face immediately lost all hope. Even getting a few gold coins was hard for her.
This was the first time her spouting out a high number had worked. Usually, people only paid a silver coin or two, and that would be gone by the end of the day when she had to buy food. She felt like tearing up once more.
"… and some can actually cost nothing," Ning said.
"Huh?" the girl asked in confusion. "How can a treatment not cost anything. The doctors make us pay 5 gold coins just for some small fever alone," the girl said.
"Huh? 5 gold coins for some fever? What sort of idiot would pay that price?" Ning said in surprise.
The girl got timid again and said, "Us idiots who know nothing about medicines and diseases who have to do what the doctor says or they won't treat us."
Ning was getting a little angry after hearing that. "Do you know a patient? Show me the way. I will see what I can do," he said.
The girl's eyes shined brightly. She caught him by the hand and started dragging him through the open streets. They were still in the jaw area, and she took him to a small house that looked more like a cottage.
She knocked on the door.
A small 7-year-old kid opened the door and was excited when he saw the girl come home. He was about to say something, but then saw Ning and instead said, "Brother, welcome back."
Ning couldn't help but smile. This brother-sister duo seemed to want to keep the fact that she was a girl from everyone.
"He knows, Anvi," she said and took Ning to the room where her father laid on the bed. The man on the bed slowly moved his head to the right as he said, " Anya, are you ba— Who are you?"
He seemed to be scared that a thief got into their house. "Father, he is a doctor I brought," Anya said as she walked inside.
"Doctor?" the man's face immediately got angry. "We don't need those goddamn rip-offs. Go back your fraud, we aren't going to pay you anything," the father screamed.
"No, Father. He is a new doctor that just came to the island. He isn't one of those stingy doctors from the marketplace," Anya said.
Ning had enough of their talk and walked forward. "Let me check you," he said as he started poking around all over his body, asking if he felt any pain or discomfort when he did so.
The father, after learning that Ning wasn't one of those frauds, answered all of his questions truthfully. Ning quickly understood what the problem was.
"I can heal you, but you will have to suffer pain that will make you feel like you are in hell while I do," Ning said.
"You… can… heal me? For what price?" the man asked.
"Hmm… normally I would ask for gold coins, but right now, I need a place to stay. How about you give me one of your rooms for the next 2 months or so for me to live in?" Ning asked.
"You… want to live in a place like this?" the man asked.
"Yeah. I just need a place to guard myself against the sun and rain. I am not looking for anything fancy," Ning said.
"Yes, father. Let's do that," Anya said from behind.
"Very well, if my daughter says so then I agree," the man said.
Ning turned around to the two kids and said, " Alright, I am going to heal you father. It will hurt him a lot and he will scream a lot, so you guys stay out."
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