After hearing what the physician said, the boy calmed down completely and even willingly stretched out his hand to him.
The physician heaved a sigh of relief.
After taking his pulse, he sighed again. “It seems that the congested blood in your brain caused by the impact is compressing your nerves. That’s why you’ve lost your memories and your vision.”
The boy frowned.
He felt nothing but indifference toward the diagnosis.
Remembering something, he reached out once again. “The baby girl?”
The hunter quickly picked up the infant and placed her in his arms.
The boy held her somewhat clumsily, but his facial muscles relaxed, as if the baby was the source of strength supporting him.
Strangely enough, when the baby saw him, she flashed him an open-mouthed smile.
The boy could not see it, but the hunter and the physician did, and they were astonished.
“You don’t even remember who you are, but you still remember this child?” The physician was intrigued.
After a moment of silence, the boy started to speak slowly, “I don’t know. I don’t know who she is either, but I vaguely remember that I have to protect someone, though I have no idea who.” What he did not say was that—he had felt lost at first, but when he held the baby, his anxious heart gradually calmed down, making him believe that this child was the person he had to protect.
The hunter recalled the scene of their encounter in the forest the day before—the boy had been close to passing out, but he had still held on to the baby tightly.
It seemed that this baby was very important to the boy, so much so that he still cared about her even though he had forgotten his own identity.
After prescribing some medicine for the boy, the physician set out back for town. Before leaving, he instructed the hunter, “Let him take this medicine for a few days first. Once the injuries on his body are healed, bring him to see me in town.”
“Thank you, sir.”
The hunter escorted him halfway before retracing his steps back home.
His wife had put her embroidery skills to use and made a set of clothes for the baby girl.
She then washed the clothes in water and left them in the sun to dry. As it was summer, this only took two hours.
When the baby woke up, she bathed the child in the yard, then changed her into her new clothes.
The hunter promptly passed his wife some boiled goat milk to let her feed the baby.
The boy was extremely wary as he had yet to recover from his injuries. He had been reluctant to let the hunter’s wife take the baby away at first, and it had taken the couple a fair amount of effort to coax him into letting go. However, he had nevertheless asked them to leave the window open so he could lean against the wall and listen in.
Although he could not see, his sense of hearing was astounding.
Even the slightest movement in the yard could not escape his ears.
As he listened to the couple playing with the baby in the yard, his feeling of tension finally eased.
A few days later, the injuries on the boy’s body were almost healed, and he could already get down from bed and walk on his own.
However, he was still blind, and he could not avoid tripping and stumbling at first. Even so, he was a persevering person who refused to be defeated by these hurdles.
After plodding a few rounds around the house, he eventually managed to get his bearings.
The next time he tried, he could already avoid all the furniture with perfect accuracy.
Although the hunter and his wife were kind folks, the boy insisted on sleeping beside the baby at night.
He was also inept at first, but he was extremely patient, and after several fumbling attempts, he started performing even better than the hunter’s wife.
The hunter’s wife could not help feeling amazed every time she watched him handle the baby.
This boy was young, but a real oddball.