Chapter 53 - 513: Who Dares to Touch Her?
Zhao Lan was stunned. "Zhi’er, how do you know all this? Who taught you?" Ever since Zhi’er had escaped death and woken up, she seemed like a completely different person.
Bai Zhi shook her head. "Mother, this isn’t the time to talk about that. I’ll tell you later. Let’s get your injury treated first."
Doctor Lu also snapped out of his stupor. His own Acupuncture Skill was mediocre, but he had heard of an Acupuncture technique that could temporarily numb the pain of patients with severe external injuries. It not only alleviated their suffering but also created better conditions for treatment. It was called the Moxibustion Needle Technique.
Such a technique was the stuff of legends; those who could truly perform it were exceedingly rare.
’But how did this girl, who was only twelve, manage it?’
"Doctor Lu, stop staring! Hurry and set my mother’s bone." ’If it weren’t so inconvenient for me to do it myself, I would have had this done in a flash. Why would I wait until now?’
Doctor Lu knew it wasn’t the right time for questions. He simply acknowledged her and hurriedly took his tools from the medicine box to get to work.
While Doctor Lu was busy with the treatment, Old Mrs. Bai, who had been arguing, suddenly glanced over at Zhao Lan. When she saw Doctor Lu already bandaging the wound, she flew into a rage and rushed over, shouting, "Who told you to treat her? When did I ever say you could?"
Bai Zhi stepped forward, positioning herself in front of Doctor Lu to prevent the old hag from suddenly flying into a rage and disrupting the treatment.
"Grandma, my mother is this badly hurt. Don’t you think she should be treated?"
Old Mrs. Bai snorted. "I don’t know if she should or not, but I’ll tell you this: I have no money to treat that jinx you call a mother. I just spent two taels of silver yesterday. Today, even if she dies, you won’t get a single coin out of me."
"Grandma, her injuries from both yesterday and today were all your doing. If you refuse to pay for her treatment, then fine. I’ll go to town right now and report you to the officials. Yesterday, you and Aunt were the ones who hit her. Today, it was Uncle. I’d like to see what the county magistrate decides then."
Hearing this, Old Mrs. Bai became so enraged that she snatched up a nearby tool and moved to strike Bai Zhi.
Seeing this, Hu Feng, who was standing nearby, reached out and grabbed the object from Old Mrs. Bai’s hand. He said in a low, dangerous voice, "What? Now you’re trying to kill her to silence her?"
Liu, of course, had to back up Old Mrs. Bai. She didn’t dare to physically confront Hu Feng, but she certainly wasn’t afraid to run her mouth. She shrieked, "Look, everyone, look! And he still claims nothing is going on with this little slut. He’s already jumping in to help her! Daring to stick up for her right here in our Bai Family home! You say the two of you are innocent? Who’s going to believe that?"
Hu Feng completely ignored Liu’s vicious slander. With a slight squeeze, he wrenched the object from Old Mrs. Bai’s hand. "As long as I, Hu Feng, am here, who dares to touch her?" he said in a low voice. "You’re all welcome to try." His icy gaze swept over Old Mrs. Bai and Liu. It then fell on Bai Dazhu, who was slumped on the ground, Bai Erzhu and his wife, who cowered in a corner, and finally, Bai Dabao and his siblings, who were crowded in the doorway watching the drama unfold.
Hu Feng stood before Bai Zhi like a great tree, shielding her from the relentless storm. He gave her small frame a peaceful haven in which to shelter.
Tucked behind his tall figure, she felt a sense of security she had never known before. ’This feeling,’ she thought, ’is truly wonderful.’
Seeing the atmosphere grow hostile once more, the village chief grew worried they would start fighting again. Fearing they wouldn’t hold back and something terrible might happen, he quickly tried to mediate, "Alright, alright. That’s enough out of everyone. Let’s all just calm down."