Chapter 3: He Lost His Memory

“Cough… Cough…”

The man trembled as he raised his hand to cover his injured abdomen, coughing uncontrollably.

“You’re awake?” He Miao put down the medicine bowl and gently patted the man’s back to ease his discomfort.

The man seemed somewhat disoriented, his eyes blurry and his mind in a daze. He turned his head towards the source of the voice. His amber eyes, which had been unfocused, seemed to clear up a little for a moment.

In a dreamy state, the man felt as if there was a fairy in front of him. Her clear black-and-white eyes seemed to hold a deep pool of water that could see right through him. Her voice was sweet and melodious, almost like it had been ringing in his ears since he had been in a daze.

He Miao noticed that he was silent, just staring at her. She blinked and asked, “Big Brother, how do you feel? Does your wound hurt a lot?”

The man struggled to speak, his voice hoarse. “Mmm…”

He Miao looked at him and noticed the confused and dazed expression on his face. It was very different from the fierce aura he had when his eyes were closed. It seemed as though the distance between them had lessened, and his expression looked a little silly.

He Miao couldn’t help but smile and said, “Yesterday, I found you in the woods. You had fallen from the mountain and were injured on your forehead and abdomen. But Uncle helped treat you, so you’re fine now.”

The young girl’s gentle tone seemed to lift some of the heaviness from his chest, which had been burdened by the bitter medicine.

The man responded in a low voice, “Mmm…”

“Well, you can stay here and recover. Once you’re better, you can leave.”

“Thank you, Miss.”

“Why did you fall from the hillside? And why are your injuries so severe?”

The man paused for a moment, shaking his head slowly. “I… I don’t remember.”

“You don’t remember?” He Miao’s beautiful eyes widened in surprise. “Then what’s your name?”

The man paused again, and then said, “I don’t know.”

He Miao’s mind began to race with possibilities, and she asked again, “Do you remember anything at all? Do you know where you’re from, where your family is?”

After a long silence, the man seemed to strain to recall something, holding his head in pain as his brows furrowed tightly. “I don’t know… I can’t remember anything…”

He Miao sensed that something wasn’t right. Based on his condition, it seemed like he had lost his memory!

“Wait here, I’ll go get Uncle to check on you!” After saying this, He Miao hurriedly went to call for He Shun.

When He Shun arrived, he examined the man and asked a few questions. The man could only answer with “I don’t know” or “I don’t remember.”

Although He Shun didn’t know how to treat such a condition, it wasn’t hard to diagnose. It was clear that the memory loss was due to the blow to his head.

To avoid the man overhearing, He Miao pulled He Shun aside and whispered, “Uncle, when will he recover?”

He Shun sighed deeply. “Memory problems like this… even the palace physicians might not be able to cure it. I can’t do much either. From what I can tell, it’s likely that he’s lost his memories. He’ll either need some kind of trigger or event to regain his memories, but we can’t say for sure. It’s even possible he may never remember anything again.”

After sending He Shun off, He Miao returned to the room. She looked at the man lying on the bed, who had no memory of anything. Wasn’t that equivalent to losing his way home? He wouldn’t be able to leave.

Since the man had woken up, half an hour had already passed.

He Miao noticed that the man’s condition seemed to be getting worse again. His gaze became unfocused, and sweat beaded on his forehead. She guessed that he was still very weak, so she helped him lie back down.

“Big Brother, this is Shixi Village. My name is He Miao. I found you in the forest yesterday when you were severely injured. I brought you back to help. Although you can’t remember anything now and don’t know where your home is, you can stay here and recover. Maybe after some time, you’ll remember.”

He Miao spoke with a smile and a soothing tone, offering the man great comfort.

The man, still weakened from his injuries, began to drift off into unconsciousness again.

“Alright,” he murmured in response, and within a few moments, he fell back into a deep sleep.

He Miao tucked him in and then took the bloody clothes he had changed out of yesterday and went to the creek to wash them.

Although the clothes were torn in several places and had a cut, they were fine-quality garments. He Miao didn’t want to discard them carelessly, so she decided to wash them thoroughly.

When she arrived at the creek, a few village women were there chatting while doing laundry.

After exchanging greetings, He Miao found a spot by the creek and soaked the man’s clothes in the water. She then added soapberry and began rubbing them clean with her hands.

A sharp-eyed woman, Aunt Cao, exclaimed, “Wow, Miao Miao, you’re doing well, huh? Using soapberries to wash clothes now?”

Soapberries were rare and precious for families in the mountains. People usually didn’t waste them for laundry.

“Yes, Aunt,” He Miao replied, feeling a bit embarrassed that she had come out so early, when there were people around.

But the secret was already out. The other women noticed that not only was He Miao using soapberries, but she was also washing the clothes by hand, instead of using a wooden mallet like the others.

Curious, the women gathered around to take a closer look. One of them picked up the fabric and marveled, “Oh my, this fabric is so soft, thin, slippery, and beautiful. How is this even possible?”

Another woman wasn’t shy about inspecting it either. She saw a large patch of bloodstains and gasped, “Oh my goodness, Miao Miao, why is this all blood? Where did these clothes come from? Did you take them from a dead person?”

“No, Aunt Qin, I saved someone yesterday. He was injured but didn’t die. These are his clothes,” He Miao explained.

Aunt Li clicked her tongue. “This is definitely expensive material. It’s even smoother than the bellyband that man gave you. That small bellyband cost 200 wen, so how much would this large piece of clothing be worth?”

The village head’s wife asked, “Miao Miao, who is the person you saved? Has he woken up?”

“Yes, Aunt Bai, he woke up, but he doesn’t remember anything. He doesn’t know who he is or where he’s from.”

The women continued asking about the man and chatted a bit more before returning to their own laundry.

He Miao continued washing the clothes, including the shirt, inner garments, and even the belt. She washed everything thoroughly with soapberries. She even cleaned his black boots, and her small hands turned red from the scrubbing.

While cleaning the boots, He Miao noticed a small embroidery on the inside, which read “Xun.” She guessed that the man’s name might have something to do with that character.

Once the clothes were all clean, the sun was starting to set. He Miao wrung them out, placed them back in the wooden basin, and remembered that the man hadn’t eaten anything. It was nearly time for his medicine, so she decided to head back home to prepare both the medicine and dinner.