"Why are you still lying there? Get up already. What, you expect me to dress you, wash your face, comb your hair, and wait on you like some old ancestor?"
That shrill, mean voice came with a hard kick against the door, crashing into the room, sharp and grating, drilling straight into Serena Whitfield's head and making the soul that had only just settled inside her tremble.
It wasn't that she was being lazy or refusing to get up. She had been trapped in a strange dream, taking in the whole life of another woman with the exact same name. That woman had been a poison doctor from the old jianghu, following her master across the land since childhood, healing the sick and saving lives. In her later years, she had hidden away in a mountain herb valley, burying herself in the study of plants and medicine. She was skilled with needles and remedies, able to save a dying man or take a life without a sound. At the moment of death, what remained of that woman's soul and memory had turned into a flicker of light and slipped into Serena Whitfield's brow, finishing the merge while she lay unconscious.
Two completely different sets of memories tangled and slammed against each other in her mind, then slowly fused into one, leaving her dazed and heavy-headed.
At the doorway, old woman Crane stood with both hands planted on her hips. Her short, stout body blocked the light at the door entirely. In the dim murky glow, her dark yellow face looked even harsher, and her slanted eyes were full of open disgust. "Our Crane family must've owed your Whitfield family in a past life. Every last one of you came here to collect a debt."
The ugly scolding kept coming, one word after another like needles. It finally chased away the fog in Serena Whitfield's head. She came back to herself little by little, her gaze brushing the old calendar on the mud wall. The date on it stood out clear as day—May 8, 1983.
Bracing herself on the old broken wooden bed, she slowly sat up and looked around. It was a crude, rundown adobe room. The furniture was old and peeling. The air was thick with the moldy damp smell the house had soaked up over the years, making her chest feel tight and stuffy. She couldn't help frowning.
Old woman Crane was still going on, every line aimed straight for the heart. "Your short-lived father sure had it easy, dying and leaving all his rotten debts for my son to carry. My son was too soft-hearted. He brought a burden like you home and even paid off a huge debt for your family. And you? You eat and drink for free all day, then stay in bed till half the morning's gone. You really think you're some rich young miss?"
Serena Whitfield lifted a hand and rubbed her swollen temples. The original owner's memories came up all at once. The Whitfields had once been a family of Miao doctors deep in the mountain villages. Three generations had practiced medicine and earned a decent name in the nearby area. Ten days ago, mountain floods had broken out, the reservoir had collapsed and released water, destroying countless homes. Disaster victims were everywhere, and sickness had spread. She and her father had gone under official orders to offer free treatment and aid. But after one old man took the prescription her father prepared, he went to sleep and never woke again.
The dead man's family threw all the blame on her father. A crowd rushed up and beat him badly, then opened their mouths and demanded money. Before the amount was even settled, her father died from his injuries, just like that, his life thrown away for nothing.
But that family wouldn't listen to reason. They tore through her house, then forced her to marry into their family to repay the debt. Later, it was her aunt, who had married off to another province, who hurried back for the funeral. She brought out two thousand yuan before she finally managed to calm things down. After handling the funeral and family matters, Serena Whitfield came with her aunt to Shihai County. They had spent two days and three nights on the train and only arrived here yesterday evening.
She had already met the old woman last night. This was her aunt's mother-in-law, living in the next room with her younger son. The moment they met, it was obvious the old woman couldn't stand her. At dinner she had spoken in that sour, sneering way, treating Serena Whitfield like some debt collector come to drag the Crane family down. It was true that her aunt had advanced that money for her. In these times, two thousand yuan was no small sum. Serena Whitfield kept that kindness firmly in mind.
She didn't want to fall out with her aunt's family, so she answered right away, "Grandma Crane, for the money Auntie put up for me, my uncle and I wrote an IOU. I'll pay it back. Every bit of it."
Her eyes, which should have been clear and simple, had lost their earlier haze. In its place was a calmness that was hard to read. The dark blue clothes on her body made her look even more quiet and unfathomable.
"You make it sound easy. Two thousand yuan, not two yuan. Where exactly are you gonn—"
Old woman Crane was so close her spit was about to fly over. Then Serena Whitfield's expression changed. Her eyes turned cold, sharp as blades, and swept over. The second half of old woman Crane's words jammed in her throat and went straight back down.
"I said I'll repay it. Every cent."
The tone coming out of Serena Whitfield's mouth was cold enough to chill the skin. Even she froze for a second. But she quickly steadied herself again. The truth was, she really wasn't quite the same now. A new soul had merged into her. That wandering poison doctor had lived a very different life and was far more ruthless and decisive than she had ever been, quicker with both judgment and action. For the moment, she still wasn't fully used to it.
"Old woman Crane, the new bridegroom got blocked at the door picking up the bride. Come on, let's hurry over to the Caldwell house and watch the fun."
The moment she heard the neighbor next door calling out, old woman Crane turned and left at once. Right before stepping out, she shot Serena Whitfield a fierce glare, her face all hard angles. "You'd better figure out how to pay that money back. Don't think you can dodge even one coin."
After throwing out those words, her short legs moved fast enough. All the way out she called to the other old women and young wives nearby, and the whole bunch of them rushed off in a noisy wave to see the excitement.
No one else was in the room. Her aunt and uncle had both gone into the county for work. Her three younger cousins were nowhere to be seen either, probably off playing somewhere. Serena Whitfield wasn't familiar with them and had no mind to go looking. She just washed her face, took a steamed sweet potato from the kitchen steamer to fill her stomach a little, then went out and wandered around the village.
Before setting foot here, she had already heard from her aunt that this place was called Wankou Village. The moment you stepped outside, you could see the sea stretching so far it had no end. Eight or nine households out of ten in the village made their living by fishing or combing the shore at low tide.
For a girl raised deep in the mountains, this was Serena Whitfield's first time seeing the real sea. She had never understood the danger hidden in it. But the poison doctor, who had roamed the jianghu for years and even crossed the sea by boat, had personally seen terrifying scenes of wild winds lifting monstrous waves, of the sea swallowing everything whole.
With those memories as a base, Serena Whitfield's thoughts changed. She had once been full of excitement about the ocean, but now, looking at this deep blue endless water, what she felt most was awe.
From far off, she watched the tide roll in wave after wave. The sea crashed against the rocks with a low booming sound. Even standing at a distance, she could feel that vast, surging power between heaven and earth.
The beach was empty right now. Not a single fishing boat or fisherman was in sight. Serena Whitfield figured this wasn't the time to stroll over there, so she simply followed the villagers east to join the commotion.
"Since I'm here already, I might as well settle in first. Auntie's gone to work, so I'll go chat with the neighbors nearby."