Chapter 292: Another lesson

As for why Nova had followed Maria into the hall, that would depend on the explanation she gave. Since she was the one who had brought him there, she must have already thought of some excuse to explain their private meeting

....

Everhart City Market...

Even after the reward ceremony had ended, the streets of Everhart City remained crowded. At one particular spot, a large crowd had gathered, forming a circle around something that had caught everyone’s attention.

People passing by couldn’t help but stop and wonder why so many people had gathered in one place.

"Why? Why is there such a huge crowd? Did some big shot show up?"

"No... There’s a shorty claiming to be an unparalleled doctor."

"Is that true?"

"Who knows? But people are saying his words are always right on point. He even cured a man who had been suffering from back pain for years!"

"Really? How much is he charging?"

"Surprisingly, he’s only asking for one silver coin!"

Discussions like these spread throughout the area as more and more people gathered. Many wanted to receive treatment at such a cheap price, although others suspected that the short doctor was nothing more than a scammer.

After all, one silver coin was still a considerable amount for ordinary people. However, most of the residents of Everhart City were relatively wealthy compared to those in other cities, as it was the Imperial Capital and the largest city on the Human Continent.

Soon, news of the mysterious doctor reached the nearby clinics. The doctors working there soon noticed that their patient numbers were steadily declining. The same thing was happening at other clinics in the surrounding area.

One of the doctors sent his men to investigate the situation. When they returned and told him about the short man who was treating patients for such a low price, his expression darkened.

The doctors were furious. If this continued, people would stop coming to their clinics altogether. They couldn’t allow that to happen and knew they had to do something about it.

With that, they decided to find out who this Shorty was—the man who was stealing their patients by offering treatments at such ridiculously low prices.

Bai Chen was having the time of his life. After all, he was doing what he loved most—treating patients with his unparalleled medical skills.

"Didn’t this old one just tell you that if you changed your sleeping position every night, the pain in your neck would disappear?"

"How long do I have to sleep like a crab, Doctor? It’s quite difficult to sleep that way!" the man asked, rubbing his neck.

"At least two weeks. Now, pay up and leave! You’re blocking my other patients!" Bai Chen snapped impatiently.

"Hey, move, you idiot! You’re not the only one here. Let the rest of us through as well!"

The man immediately paid Bai Chen one silver coin before leaving the crowd.

Bai Chen stored the coin in his spatial ring and glanced at the ever-growing crowd. If he didn’t control the situation soon, he would surely end up getting arrested.

"Everyone, please maintain order! Otherwise, this old one won’t examine your problems! this old one don’t want to get arrested by the Imperial Guards!" Bai Chen shouted.

However, the crowd paid no attention to his words. Everyone continued pushing and arguing, each trying to get their turn first.

Suddenly, a middle-aged man with a completely swollen face appeared. His appearance was so ridiculous that he looked almost comical as he shouted through his tears.

"Everyone, don’t trust this shorty! He gave me some medicine, and I applied it to my face because I had a few small spots!"

He pointed at his swollen face and cried out, "Just look at what happened to me!"

"What?!"

"Is that true? My goodness! Look at his face! He looks like some demonic beast!"

"Yes! Look at what this scammer did to me! Don’t get treated by him, or you’ll end up looking just like me!"

Bai Chen was stunned. He couldn’t remember treating anyone with such a condition, so why was this man accusing him?

His expression quickly darkened with anger.

"Hey! Don’t spread such baseless lies! This old one has never treated you! Don’t accuse this old one of something he hasn’t done!"

"You’re calling me a liar?! Everyone, just look at him! First, he ruined my face, and now he’s blaming me and calling me a liar!"

The man dropped to the ground, clutching his swollen face as he began to cry bitterly. Seeing this, the crowd grew increasingly furious.

They genuinely began to believe the man’s accusations. After all, who in their right mind would deliberately ruin their own face just to frame someone else?

Soon, angry shouts erupted from every direction as people began accusing Bai Chen.

Bai Chen immediately realized that he was being framed, but there was little he could do at the moment. He had no idea who had sent the man or why they were targeting him.

Just then, he spotted the Imperial Guards approaching the crowd.

Without wasting another second, Bai Chen swiftly packed up his entire stall and soared into the sky.

There was no point arguing with these people anymore. Even if he told them the truth, they clearly had no intention of listening.

Most importantly, his junior brother, Nova, had warned him not to cause any more trouble. Therefore, he couldn’t let anyone discover his connection to Nova.

He was also glad that he hadn’t announced to the crowd that the champion of the tournament was his junior brother. Otherwise, he might have caused trouble for Nova once again.

Bai Chen didn’t want that. He understood that Nova was doing him a great favour by treating him as an ally, and he knew his junior brother’s character well enough not to take advantage of his kindness.

Nova had already made him this powerful and shared countless secrets with him. They were sworn brothers, and Bai Chen couldn’t allow himself to become a burden to him any longer.

His mother had once told him to solve his own problems, and he was finally beginning to understand the meaning behind her words.

He had learned similar lessons before, some from his own experiences and others from his junior brother, Nova. Now, he had received yet another lesson.

If you help the people of this world out of pure kindness, you’ll eventually get hurt. It’s better to have both kindness and cruelty in your heart.

However, Bai Chen was genuinely a kind man, so it would take time for him to adapt to the cruel ways of this world. Even Nova had wondered many times how someone with such a naive mindset had managed to survive for so long.

Nova had never told him to become cruel toward others. He had only advised him to accept reality and learn to distinguish between those who genuinely needed his help and those who simply wanted to take advantage of his kindness.

Bai Chen understood these lessons all too well, and with each passing experience, he was beginning to understand them more deeply.

For now, he decided to find whoever had framed him and make them pay for what they had done.

On the other side, Nova returned to the mansion after witnessing what had happened to Bai Chen through the Deadborns he had sent to accompany him.

He sighed as he wondered why Bai Chen couldn’t seem to live without getting into trouble. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that trouble always found him, even when he was simply doing what he loved most—helping others.

However, Nova had no intention of interfering. Bai Chen needed to handle his own problems. As Nova entered the mansion, Fred greeted him.

After returning, Nova sensed that Rieka and Asia were inside the System Space, so he went to his room and entered it as well.

**

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