Chapter 158: Chapter 158: She Cannot Take the Risk

Ling Zhiwei reacted in a flash, diving down and taking the blow on his back for her.

The whip made a dull THUD as it struck his padded coat. He gritted his teeth and said nothing.

"Brother!"

Shanshan cried out, her voice muffled, but her eyes were already locked on the men standing around them.

She wiped the corner of her mouth and yelled at the men in the lead, "I can treat people! That woman can still be saved! The baby’s umbilical cord hasn’t even been cut—it must still be alive! I can deliver the baby!"

"You? A little slip of a girl who still smells of milk, and you dare to boast?"

"Stop with the clever tricks. You’re not leaving until you pay up!"

Another burly man roared in a gravelly voice, clutching a rusty dagger in his hand.

"My family has been doctors for three generations. This is nothing difficult. Are you sure you don’t want to take a gamble? She’s been pregnant for so long. If she loses this baby, who knows how long it’ll be before she has another chance."

Shanshan’s eyes fixed on the village chief as she spoke faster.

"Village chief... why don’t we let the girl try? My elder uncle’s family line is already weak. Now his wife is stuck in labor. We can’t let their line die out, can we?"

A middle-aged man in a gray, cloth tunic spoke up hesitantly.

"She’s almost gone anyway. Might as well treat a dead person like they’re alive. It’s not like we’ll lose anything by letting her try. Besides, where can a little girl like her run? She’s tied up."

Another person chimed in, his gaze sweeping over the hemp rope on Shanshan’s ankle.

After a flurry of arguments from all sides, the village chief frowned in thought for a long while before finally nodding in agreement.

He lifted a withered hand and waved at the people beside him, signaling for them to prepare what she had asked for.

But they were still wary, so they securely tied a thick hemp rope around Shanshan’s ankle.

Shanshan, however, paid them no mind. She walked over to the pregnant woman and, with a single glance, knew what to do.

"She can be saved, and the baby’s fine, but I’ll have to make an incision. First, I need to wash my hands. Quickly, boil lots of water. Also, do you have any strong white liquor? The more potent, the better!"

She rattled off a series of commands with an air of authority that actually stunned everyone present.

A few of the men who had been snickering just moments before now exchanged glances. No one dared to mock her again.

Ling Zhiwei, standing off to the side, assumed his sister was just creating a diversion and quickly played along to support her.

"That’s right. In surgery, the biggest risk is infection. The conditions here are poor, so we have to be as careful as possible to avoid germs."

He even gave Shanshan a subtle wink.

But what happened next left him utterly dumbfounded.

He had thought Shanshan was just putting on an act to scare away the villagers.

But the first thing she did after getting up was walk straight to the kitchen and start rummaging for usable utensils and tools.

’She was actually serious?’

’She’s really going to save her?’

Ling Zhiwei’s mind went completely blank.

The clamor of the people around him seemed to fade into the distance.

All he could see was Shanshan’s bustling figure moving back and forth.

Ling Zhiwei’s eyes widened as he watched Shanshan, one moment rummaging through pots and pans, the next inspecting the tools they had gathered.

She examined the iron shears, kitchen knives, and small saws the villagers presented, frowning as she rejected most of them.

In the end, she selected only a thin watermelon knife, which she then personally sharpened again and again on a whetstone.

"This is a C-section. Without anesthetic, I have to cut her open while she’s conscious. A few of you, hold down her arms and legs. Don’t let her struggle, no matter what."

As she spoke, Shanshan passed the knife blade through a flame.

The air was thick with dust and the smell of sweat.

The risk of infection was extremely high performing surgery in this environment.

She couldn’t take that risk.

With no other choice, she secretly used a Spell to completely sterilize the knife.

Everyone was dumbstruck, watching wide-eyed as she began, her technique deft and her movements practiced.

She first wiped the woman’s abdomen with a cloth soaked in liquor, then took a deep breath and decisively made the first cut.

The blade made a soft tearing sound as it sliced through the skin.

Blood immediately welled up, but she didn’t pause, continuing to cut precisely through the muscle layer.

Most of the onlookers couldn’t bear to watch and turned their heads, not daring to look.

The smell of blood quickly filled the air, mixing with the scent of burnt metal, making one’s stomach turn.

One man took just two glances before collapsing to the ground, his face ashen.

Ling Zhiwei’s mouth kept watering, and his stomach churned violently.

He was supposed to be playing the part of someone from a family of doctors.

If he looked away now, the facade he had built would be completely ruined.

He forced himself to keep watching the procedure.

The surgery was over quickly.

A few minutes later, Shanshan lifted out a small, slippery baby.

With a flick of her wrist, she cut the umbilical cord.

She then held the infant up by its feet and gently slapped its back.

"WAAAH!" The baby’s cry shattered the silence of the night.

The people waiting outside were all stunned.

The villagers gathered outside the house looked up in unison, their eyes fixed on the doorway.

"It’s alive! She actually saved them?"

Immediately, more people crowded around, pushing and shoving to get a look inside.

"That little girl really has some skill? She can cure people?"

Murmurs rippled through the crowd, the tone shifting from its earlier contempt to one of awe.

The crowd erupted, everyone talking at once.

Those with sick family members immediately got ideas, wondering if they could get her to take a look at their own kin.

Before, for a headache or a fever, all they could do was find the witch doctor to burn incense and chant incantations. Whether it worked or not was pure luck.

If the person didn’t pull through, they could only accept their fate.

The witch doctor’s herbs were expensive, the rituals were tedious, and more often than not, they didn’t work.

But now was different. A young girl who could perform miracles with her own hands was standing right in front of them.

A young girl who could heal had delivered herself right to their doorstep. It would be a waste not to use her.

Though no one said it aloud, it was an unspoken understanding among them all.

The way they looked at Shanshan was no longer as an outsider child, but as a living deity who could save lives.

By the time Shanshan had finished tending to the new mother and walked out, everyone looked at her differently.

A few of the old women even tried to go forward and take her hand.

"Dear girl, you’re a miracle worker! You pulled her back from death’s door! From now on, our entire Old Fu’s family will be indebted to you!"

The Fu Family crowded around her, all talking at once to express their gratitude.

"Quick, untie them! Untie them! It’s not like a little girl like her is going to fly away, is it? It’s not right to have her tied up!"

Someone hurried to untie the ropes on Ling Zhiwei, their flustered movements filled with apology.

The Fu Family, once arrogant, were now utterly deferential. The change was whiplash-fast, and they quickly laid out a table of hot food.

The food was steaming, its aroma filling the air.

On the table was not only a stew with cured meat, but also a rare sight: white rice.

Even the men who had been watching coldly from the sidelines now approached with ingratiating smiles, trying to make conversation.

But the old man who was both village and clan chief watched on coldly, his stance completely unchanged.

They could eat and drink, but the ropes on their ankles remained untouched, still tied just as tightly.

The coarse hemp rope dug into their skin, leaving a deep red mark.

They were locked in an old woodshed. Piles of dry straw and farm tools were stacked in the corners.

The wooden door was locked from the outside, and the only window had been boarded up.

Even so, neither of them slept soundly.

But this wouldn’t stop the two of them.

「The next day, just as dawn was breaking.」

They quietly surveyed their surroundings, getting a general sense of the nearby paths.

Shanshan listened intently for a moment, then gently tugged on Ling Zhiwei’s sleeve and pointed to the east.