vrcanaries Chapter 1332 Confrontation
Chapter 1332 Confrontation
Xie Jianshu dodged the wooden stick by sidestepping it, snatched it back with his backhand, threw it on the ground, and stomped on it until it broke.
His men immediately stepped forward, standing beside Lin Yiwan and confronting the villagers. The small house instantly descended into chaos, with tables and chairs knocked over and dust flying everywhere.
Lin Yiwan never stopped what she was doing. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to ignore the noise and threats around her, and stared intently at Yan'er's face.
The acupuncture needle had already had some effect; although Yan'er's breathing was still weak, it was slightly more volatile than before. She knew that she had to administer acupuncture to unblock Yan'er's meridians as soon as possible, otherwise, if the best opportunity was missed, even a god would be powerless to save her.
She quickly took out several more silver needles from the medicine box, and with swift movements of her fingertips, accurately inserted them into Yan'er's acupoints such as the philtrum and Yongquan point.
Each needle prick was swift and steady, her gaze so focused that it seemed as if everything around her was irrelevant. But the village chief's voice, like a curse, kept echoing in her ears: "Witch, still pretending! I think you're just stalling for time, waiting to escape when it gets dark!"
"Village chief, please believe me just this once! Madam Zhan is really saving people!" Ah Zhi was sweating profusely, blocking the villagers who wanted to rush forward while pleading loudly with the village chief, "I swear on the name of my deceased parents, Madam Zhan is definitely not a bad person. If she wanted to harm Yan'er, she wouldn't have needed to go to such lengths to administer acupuncture!"
The village chief didn't believe Ah Zhi's words at all. He walked to the bedside and watched Lin Yiwan's continuous acupuncture movements. His suspicions deepened: "I think she's just using these fancy things to deceive people. Yan'er was still breathing, but with her doing this to her, she might really be gone!"
As he spoke, he suddenly reached out to push Lin Yiwan, trying to stop her from administering acupuncture.
Caught off guard, Lin Yiwan staggered, nearly piercing the wrong spot with the silver needle in her hand.
At this moment, Zhan Miao rushed over and shouted angrily, "Don't touch my mother!"
Her brows were furrowed tightly, and the coldness in her eyes really frightened the village chief.
Lin Yiwan steadied herself, looked up at the village chief, and said in a deep voice, "Village chief, I'm warning you, this is a critical time for treatment. If you interfere with me again, Yan'er really won't survive, and the responsibility will be entirely yours!"
The village chief felt a pang of panic under Lin Yiwan's gaze, but then, as if remembering something, he spoke forcefully again: "You're the one who harmed her, and you're trying to shift the blame onto me! Let me tell you, if Yan'er dies today, none of you will escape!"
Just then, Yan'er on the bed coughed softly, her faint breath ruffling the stray hairs on her forehead.
A-Yuan was the first to notice. He looked up abruptly, his eyes lighting up instantly, and shouted excitedly, "She moved! Yan'er moved! She coughed!"
The villagers stopped what they were doing and all looked toward the bedside. They saw Yan'er's eyelids flutter slightly, her lips part slightly, and she coughed again. Although the sound was still weak, it clearly reached everyone's ears.
The village chief's anger froze instantly, his eyes filled with disbelief.
He leaned closer, staring intently at Yan'er's face, confirming that she had indeed stirred. His suspicions lessened somewhat, but he still refused to admit defeat: "This might just be a final burst of energy before death. Who knows if it's your doing!"
Ignoring the village chief's questions, Lin Yiwan took advantage of Yan'er's slight recovery and immediately sped up the acupuncture treatment.
She took out another silver needle, heated it over a fire to sterilize it, and then precisely inserted it into Yan'er's Feishu acupoint, gently twisting the needle handle. As the silver needle rotated, Yan'er's breathing gradually became more stable, and her face lost some of its deathly pallor, gaining a faint touch of color.
Seeing the changes in his sister, Ah Zhi was so moved that tears welled up in his eyes. He kowtowed repeatedly to Lin Yiwan, saying, "Thank you, Madam! Thank you, Madam! You are truly a living bodhisattva with superb medical skills!"
Looking at the scene before him, Xie Jianshu's tense expression eased somewhat. He said to the village chief in a deep voice, "Now you see, right? Our lady was indeed saving people. Shouldn't you give us an explanation for our previous doubts?"
The village chief's face turned pale and then red. Seeing Yan'er's obvious improvement, and recalling his actions, he felt ashamed and guilty, but he couldn't bring himself to apologize in front of so many villagers.
He opened his mouth, but finally forced himself to say, "Even if she makes a move now, it doesn't prove that she didn't harm Yan'er! Maybe she harmed Yan'er first, and then pretended to save her to gain our trust and plot something sinister!"
These words immediately broke the silence among the villagers, who had been somewhat calm. Although Yan'er had improved, the village chief's words were not without merit; they still harbored suspicion towards strangers.
Lin Yiwan finally finished administering the last acupuncture needle. She pulled out the silver needle, wiped her hands with a clean cloth, and then turned around, looking calmly at the village chief and the villagers.
She exuded a powerful aura, carrying a strength that compelled people to believe her: "The village chief says I harmed Yan'er, but do you have any evidence? Yan'er was already seriously ill, and the cold nearly caused her to stop breathing. I used silver needles to stimulate her acupoints, clear her meridians, and awaken her life force. If I wanted to harm her, I only needed to exert a little force, and she would already be dead by now. Why go to such great lengths?"
As she spoke, she pointed to the herbs scattered around the bed and continued, "These are the herbs I prepared to treat Yan'er's health. If you don't believe me, you can find someone who knows herbs to take a look and see if they are poisonous. I, Lin Yiwan, have been practicing medicine for many years and have never harmed anyone. Today, I happened to pass by this place and met Brother Azhi who asked for help, so I lent a hand. I never expected to be accused of slander and harming someone."
The village chief looked in the direction Lin Yiwan pointed and saw that the herb leaves were fresh and emitted a faint medicinal fragrance, and they did not look poisonous.
An old man in the village knew some basic knowledge of herbal medicine. He stepped forward, picked up a herb, smelled it, and shook his head at the villagers: "This is licorice, which can replenish qi and nourish blood. And this one is bupleurum, which can clear heat and detoxify. They are both good medicinal materials for treating diseases and are not poisonous."
With the old man's testimony, the villagers' doubts were completely dispelled.
Their gazes towards Lin Yiwan gradually shifted from initial wariness and hostility to guilt and gratitude. The villagers who had just attacked her lowered their heads in embarrassment, no longer daring to look at Lin Yiwan.
The village chief's face fell completely; he knew he had truly made a mistake this time. He sighed, cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to Lin Yiwan, and said with a hint of guilt, "Madam Lin, I was foolish and misunderstood you. Please be magnanimous and don't hold it against us country bumpkins."