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."
