The Supreme Genius Reborn

Chapter Four

Lena returned with the items a few hours later and handed him some cash.

"I'm going to move out of this apartment tomorrow. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. It was completely unplanned. Something urgent came up in my family," she said. Samuel felt it had not been necessary to tell him, yet he was glad she had, he appreciated that she valued him enough to say it.

"I hope this cash will carry you for a few weeks. I might be back in a month, or I might not return at all, so you should try to find a job," she warned.

He nodded and felt warmth in his chest. In his past life, no one had worried about him like this. People assumed he was a genius and capable of anything. His clan had been wealthy and he had lacked for nothing. To them, he already had everything he needed. His father had been busy, his mother had died giving birth to him, and he had always been expected to fend for himself.

After Lena left, he gathered the herbs and ingredients and prepared them quickly. He went to the bathroom, mixed everything into the hot bathwater, undressed, and stepped into the tub.

Sharp pains shot through his wounds, but he did not even flinch. After everything he had endured in the crystal space, he had grown almost immune to pain. He had endured an amount of suffering no ordinary person could bear.

He began to cultivate in the bathtub. His manual was the Primordial Devouring Art, the most powerful technique he had studied in the crystal space. His body ravenously absorbed the energies from the medicines he had prepared.

When he woke, he realized he had broken through the first level. A flicker of disappointment touched him when he saw that the medicines had lost all their energy. He had hoped to reach the second level.

He climbed out of the tub and dried himself. After changing into fresh clothes, he checked his watch and saw that it was already morning. He had spent a long time in the bathtub. He took some cash and left the apartment.

"It's time to make some money," he muttered. He decided to offer his medical skills for now; hopefully someone would need them.

A quick search turned up a medicine market. He took a cab there. Once he arrived, he bought several sets of silver needles and some inexpensive herbs. He found a nearby spot, set up a makeshift stall, and wrote on a cardboard sign:

Bring me your diseases and ailments and they will be gone. Pay only after treatment. If I cannot cure you, I will refund double your money.

People at the market saw the sign and started laughing.

"Who's this? A con artist?" one of them exclaimed.

"He thinks he's a divine doctor? Even Divine Doctor Shen would never claim to cure everything," another sneered.

Samuel's setup caused a commotion, but he did not care. He needed money fast. With the knowledge he had gained in the crystal space, he could have tried tech work, but that would take time and might not pay off within a month, let alone seven days. He needed cash now. Because his offer required payment only after treatment, some desperate people might be tempted. He was confident in his skills now that he had a little qi from his cultivation.

Contrary to his expectations, no one approached his stall. People shot him contemptuous glances and walked away. After five hours he was about to give up when a fat man approached.

"Little brother, you said you can cure any disease and ailment?" the fat man asked.

"Yes, that's right," Samuel replied.

The fat man shifted uncomfortably. "I've been having a problem lately. My little brother has refused to rise these past few weeks. I've been to different doctors and taken traditional medicines, but nothing worked," he admitted, embarrassed.

Samuel did not let him speak further. He already suspected the cause, but he wanted to be sure. He offered to take the fat man's pulse and then injected a small amount of qi into him.

"I see the cause of your problem, and I am confident I can cure it," Samuel announced, then added, "If you don't mind receiving acupuncture in public, I can treat you now. If you prefer privacy, take me to your home and I'll apply acupuncture there."

The fat man trembled with hope. He did not care about being treated in public; he wanted a cure immediately.

"We can rent a stall for the day in this market," Samuel suggested. The fat man agreed, and they paid for a small store.

Inside the rented stall, Samuel began the treatment. Those who had watched followed and sneered.

"He conned him. See, he even paid for the stall," someone muttered.

Samuel made the fat man lie down and worked quickly and precisely. He inserted needles with practiced speed and injected small amounts of qi where needed. He unblocked the meridians that caused the problem and expelled the toxins lodged in them.

"All done. How do you feel?" Samuel asked.

The fat man could hardly hold back tears. It had been weeks since his younger brother showed any sign of reaction. Now the boy stirred and made a small movement. Overcome with emotion, the fat man hugged Samuel tightly.

"Get off me, fatty," Samuel said, uncomfortable, and pushed the fat man away before he could touch him further.

The fat man quickly composed himself. "Hehehe, I was just moved," he said. "How much does the treatment cost?"

Samuel kept a poker face. "One hundred thousand dollars," he said. He prayed the fat man would not cause a scene. If the crowd started shouting fraud, Samuel could be beaten and humiliated.

He watched the fat man's expression. If the man showed outrage, Samuel would lower the price and tell him it was five thousand. It was a shameless tactic, but he had few choices. He would die in less than seven days if he could not gather twenty crystals, and the crystals cost a fortune.

He had truly treated the fat man. The f*e was outrageous—one hundred thousand dollars was no small sum. At most, the treatment might reasonably cost ten thousand, since the problem had not consumed much of his time or energy to resolve. But survival forced him to harden his face and take the chance.