Chapter 2 Rebirth or Transmigration? I've fantasized about transmigrating into a book and becoming an evil...
I awoke from the chaos to find myself curled up in a corner of a dark room.
It was pitch black; you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.
The slight rise and fall of breathing around me told me that I wasn't alone.
My breathing became rapid.
Where am I now? And how did I get here?
I forced myself to calm down and tried hard to recall.
I vaguely remember that I was taking a walk in the hospital after dinner when I was attacked from behind by some mentally ill person. They knocked me unconscious with a heavy object, and I don't remember anything after that...
Random footsteps approached from outside the room, growing closer, and I immediately stood up. A soft rustling sound came from beside me, and others began to stand up as well.
The door opened, and a group of long-haired women carrying parchment lanterns walked in. The dim light illuminated a corner of the room, revealing the floor, its color indistinguishable, speckled with dust.
It also vaguely illuminated their long, black hair, revealing a sickly, aged appearance.
A strange intuition suddenly enveloped me—they were not human.
My heart started racing again.
"Listen up, all of you," the long-haired woman at the head said coldly. "From today onwards, you all have to work. Have you all finished crying? If you cause any more trouble, I'll throw you all into the sea to feed the sharks."
What did she mean? I don't understand at all.
I hoped someone would come out and ask me something, but there was only silence, and I could hear the irregular breathing.
Following the scattered torchlight, the people in the room lined up and walked into the simple, dimly lit corridor.
I walked at the back of the line, my head bowed low, but I was actually observing carefully.
Everyone here is a woman, including those in this group.
Was I forcibly transferred to a terrifying hospital where everyone loves cosplay? And even likes to imitate 18th-century court style?
But where are the administrators of this mental hospital? And where are the doctors and nurses?
As I followed the large group to the end of the corridor and passed through a vibrant garden, my doubts grew stronger.
I'm sure my parents don't have the financial means to transfer me to such a good hospital.
Suddenly, a bold guess came to me. "Oh my god!" I blurted out—I must have traveled through time, been reborn, or landed in an incredible place?
Everyone looked at me. Two long-haired women carrying sheepskin lanterns frowned and strode over. One of them slapped me without saying a word, "Quiet down, you idiot."
My face burned with pain. I touched my face, feeling both fear and anger, and burst into tears. The two long-haired women began to take turns slapping me, hitting me harder and harder. I cried out and fought back, kicking and biting, until finally we rolled onto the ground and started fighting...
Half an hour later, I stood in the dilapidated hall with my long hair disheveled and my face red and swollen.
A cold wind blew in through the hole in the wall of the windowless hall, carrying a putrid smell, and the torchlight flickered like will-o'-the-wisps.
I lost my "arrogance"—yes, I admit, I was put to rest by the two strong women behind me.
"You lot, you'll be working in the kitchen from now on," the long-haired woman sitting in the center of the hall said expressionlessly to the girls with braids standing at the front.
It appears that work is being assigned.
Soon it was my turn. The long-haired woman on the chair had a terrifyingly cold look in her eyes. "This one's always looking for trouble. Throw her in the stinkiest room."
My instinct was to respond, "No, I won't go..." My intuition told me it was a terrifying place.
The two long-haired women behind me quickly stepped forward. One restrained my body, while the other hoisted me onto her shoulder, strode out of the hall, and threw me out. I screamed and fell down the high stairs...
***
A long, long time ago, I fantasized about transmigrating into a book and becoming the villainous female supporting character, slapping all the hypocritical and sanctimonious people in the face.
She even fantasized about entering a scumbag self-rescue system to change her tragic fate from her previous life.
But none of my fantasies have come true, and I don't even know if I'm the female lead, the supporting female character, a scumbag, or what?!
***
Two days later, in the evening, I walked barefoot down the dilapidated, dark, winding corridor. The dusty, worn-out floor and the cobweb-covered, crumbling corners of the walls all seemed strangely familiar.
Yes, it's the interior of the castle from that horror comic book.
After falling down the steps, I injured my foot and was covered in bruises on my face and body. I rested on a pile of rotten straw for two days before being sent back to work.
Two burly, long-haired women walking ahead kept urging me to hurry up.
I forced myself to quicken my pace.
After limping along for a long time, I finally reached the end of the corridor amidst the cursing of two long-haired women. As soon as I got closer, a huge, sour, and putrid stench hit me.
A long-haired woman urged me to go inside, but I covered my mouth and nose and refused no matter what.
But when a long, thorny whip lashed down on my soft shoulder, I still tumbled and scrambled into it.
"From now on, you will stay in Manboya's room. You will be in charge of the princesses' food, drink, and daily needs." A long-haired woman said this from outside the door, covering her mouth, and then immediately left with another long-haired woman.
Princess?
I covered my mouth and nose as I fell to the floor. How could there be a princess in such a smelly place?
I don't know how much time passed, until it was completely dark, before I could finally adjust to the unbearable smell and get up to light a tinderbox.
Despite being mentally prepared, I still couldn't believe my eyes and was completely startled.
Is this still a place for people to live? It's like a farm.
There was no furniture, no beds, only a large pile of rotten straw and two rows of large iron cages.
Several girls covered in black hair were locked in two rows of iron cages. When the tinderbox was lit, they all covered their eyes simultaneously.
I was so scared that I fell to the ground with a thud.
Is this a princess or... a beast?
Or...were they abducted by human traffickers and kept in cages? But that's highly unlikely. Because their faces and bodies are covered in long, black hair, making them look exactly like chimpanzees. Human traffickers wouldn't kidnap "chimpanzees" to be married off.
These "chimpanzee princesses" were surrounded by filth—feces, urine, and a sour, rancid stench from not having bathed in ages.
I sat in front of the rotten straw, covering my mouth and nose, staring intently at them. The princesses, however, acted as if they didn't see me, continuing with their own activities. Some yawned lazily, some lay on the ground playing with insects, and a few were playing rock-paper-scissors with great enthusiasm.
They didn't even glance at me, as if my shock was a joke.
Fifteen minutes later, I fetched a bucket of water and began cleaning the iron cage, also opening the doors and windows.
After a busy night, although it still smells terrible, it's much better than when I first came in; at least I can breathe now.
The next morning, the long-haired woman who had brought me here the night before read me a “work schedule”, which included what I should do every day and what the punishment system was. In short, I had to keep cleaning and “taking care” of the princess every day, and if I was lazy, I would be punished with whipping.
I was so upset I could cry. Was I being treated like a laborer?
"Do you understand?" The long-haired woman asked me, covering her mouth as she led me to a spot far from the room.
"I understand," I replied obediently, because I didn't want to be beaten again.
Rather than being a princess who might have been trafficked, I feel more like a trafficked slave—the kind who does hard labor in a black brick kiln.
Every morning, as the first rays of sunlight shine into the "breeding pen," I carry a bucket of water and a bucket of feed into the pen and begin cleaning the iron cages and replacing the smelly manure and straw.
While scattering feed, they watched as the princesses scrambled for it like animals.
After that, I left with the empty bucket and came back with a bucket of clean water to wipe the floor and the doors and windows.
The floors and windows were extremely dirty, and it took two hours to clean them each time.
After I finished, I had to kneel on the corridor outside the "breeding pen" and scrub the floor, vigorously wiping away the dirt with a rag from one end of the corridor to the other, just like Chihiro scrubbing the floor in "Spirited Away".
By the time all of the above was completed, the sun had already set.
Several long-haired women would come to inspect, and if it didn't meet the standards, in addition to being whipped three times, it would have to be redone.
After the long-haired woman left, I had to feed the princesses one more time before I could have dinner, my only meal of the day, which was slightly better than the princesses' "feed"—two cold, hard pieces of bread.
I usually only eat one, and save the other for lunch the next day, otherwise I'll faint from hunger if I don't eat for most of the day.
After half a month, I lost a lot of weight, which in modern terms would be considered a successful weight loss, but I wasn't happy because every day felt like living in prison.
I wanted to escape countless times, but when I saw the surging sea below the cliff from the top of the castle, I was too afraid to continue.
I wanted to find companions who had the same experience as me, and to discuss ways to "escape" with people who had also been inexplicably "abducted" here. But apart from the long-haired women who supervised me, I could not see anyone else.
Most of the time I'm alone guarding the iron cage, living a life filled with fear and trepidation.
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