Transmigration & Reverse Transmigration

No. 8: Brothel

It was still early and the sunlight was weak, shining feebly through the treetops. A large, unknown tree in the courtyard with lush, heart-shaped leaves shielded the new and tender leaves bursting forth in bloom. They shuddered lightly with the pa.s.sing breeze. Xiao Tao1 was just like these baby leaves, standing thin and weak in the center of the courtyard as she trembled helplessly.

"Minmin! Xiao Tao! You two little vixens!" Big sister Hongxin2 stood beneath the eaves of the porch, hands on hips as she lectured us. "How many times have I told you? Women can"t lift their heads in front of men! What"s with you two lifting your faces and smiling all day?! Acting so h.o.r.n.y this early in the day!" Hongxin"s hands pinched her handkerchief as she swayed her hips to walk in front of Xiao Tao and pressured her. "Aren"t you ashamed of yourself yet? Don"t you know what disgrace is? Don"t you…"

Three days ago, a Manager Huang who picked Hongxin"s nameplate at the brothel as a regular had taken a fancy to Xiao Tao when she came to serve tea. From then on, Xiao Tao had a hard life. She was only a servant used for cleaning and sweeping, while Hongxin was a formal employee with her own name plate. Revolt? That was impossible.

Xiao Tao"s forehead and neck were left with dark red marks from Hongxin"s nails. Finally, she couldn"t take it anymore and started to cry from the pain, before throwing aside her broom and running off. With no one else around to vent off her anger, Hongxin set her sights on me. Actually, I had no grudges with Hongxin, but since I was Xiao Tao"s friend, I was somehow liable as well. I saw the cursing Hongxin as she approached me with her blood-red nails and nimbly dodged sideways until we were about three meters apart. Then I calmly observed her before revealing a coquettish smile.

"Big sister Hongxin~ This is what we call a fawning smile. As to why we were smiling so bewitchingly, isn"t it because~" I spun around in a circle, swaying slightly before giving another alluringly charming smile, "Isn"t it because s p r i n g is here~?"

So speaking, I cast aside the sh.e.l.lshocked Hongxin and walked away. Want to fight with me? A feudalistic female like you can"t compare to a thick-skinned 21st century woman! We"re on completely different levels! (Though this doesn"t seem to be the point…)

It had already been a month since I transmigrated. After the local villain had bought me, I was delivered straight to one of his brothels. This was the main difference between transmigrating into a forest versus a busy street: starting anew from scratch versus making a name overnight.

Ever since the Hidden Spring Brothel took me in, I was hailed as "an unusually seductive creature that descended from the Heavens, enticing and enchanting all lookers" (it made me get a cold, heresy and gossip like this). The flood of customers increased suddenly and sharply, increasing the click-through-rate of the available "sisters" in a straight line! But the procuress of the brothel didn"t allow me to receive guests immediately, preferring to whet the male customers" appet.i.tes before holding a grand deflowering ceremony. Profiteers were still profiteers in the end. In this way, not only did I gain enough time to adjust to my surroundings, a heavy profit could be scooped up from the results!

Besides me, there were also two girls named Xiao Tao and Qingqing3 that were brought in on the same day. That night, they"d nearly been a.s.saulted by two retainers until I took care of the ruffians. From then on, Xiao Tao and Qingqing became my first wave of diehard fans. 

Xiao Tao once asked me in curiosity, "Your skills are so good, so why stay at the brothel?"

I looked back with a grin. "Because the brothel is an important setting for major plot points to take place~"

Xiao Tao: "…???!!!"

With one month gone, I gradually gained some knowledge of the world I"d transmigrated to. It was currently the Fifth Year of Emperor Xi"s4 reign in the Later Ming Dynasty. The capital city was in Changle5, and the country was prosperous and at peace. Those old experts of ancient Chinese history can hit their chests and guarantee that they"ve heard of Later Tang and Later Qin, but China"s never had a Later Ming!

"Looks like it"s a different historical timeline~" After recognizing this fact, I was both crushed and ecstatic. Joy came from the fact that I could use those poems I memorized as much as I liked, without regard to time period or dynasties! It was comparable to blindly guessing "B" on a test you didn"t know, only to find out all the correct answers were "B" after all! Sorrow came from the fact that I"d memorized 5,000 years of Chinese history for nothing! It was comparable to bitterly memorizing ten problems overnight, only to find out you"d studied outside the scope of the cla.s.sroom syllabus! (Cla.s.sic examples from a youth long suppressed by an exam-oriented education system.)

The place I"d transmigrated to was called Autumn Leaf City, a small garrison town located on the western borders of the kingdom. The mountains were high and the emperor far away, so no wonder it was easy to catch and release a so-called monster with a simple word. The customs here followed those of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) where men were regarded as superior to women. It was so severe that women weren"t even allowed to lift their heads before men. Besides the fact that foot-binding didn"t exist, tradition still followed customs such as "better to starve to death than lose one"s chast.i.ty" and other moral principles that focused on women. The clothing and accessories here were rather surprising, similar to those at the height of the Tang Dynasty. But unlike the full figured beauties of the Tang, the people here were more easy and smooth, succinct and terse. Technology had advanced to about the levels found in the Song Dynasty. 

Speaking of strange things, why hadn"t I been able to transmigrate when I deliberately planned to? Yet once I"d given up on the idea, I immediately transmigrated? Every night in this past month, I"d been dreaming about my dad, my mom, Zhi Yuan, my roommates, KFC, McDonald"s, video games I"d yet to clear, webnovels I"d yet to finish reading, Zhi Yuan"s phone call I never got to pick up…every single thing was something I was reluctant to part with from that other world. Perhaps it was only when I lost them that I realized what suited me best. I think I really wanted to go back…

Just then, the old procuress told me to prepare. In three days time, it"d be my deflowering ceremony. Of course I didn"t agree, but I wasn"t so stupid as to cry, make a fuss, and threaten suicide. Since there was no way for me to go back at the moment, then I"ll do as my idol Zhang Qinglian6 once said: See how I"ll settle in this world like a fish put back into water that rises with the sound of the wind!

Inside the rooms of the procuress at the brothel, the red candles flickered and swayed as my shadow moved with them in turn. 

"Then let"s make an agreement," I smiled brilliantly. "Give me seven days to prepare and I promise that your Hidden Spring Brothel will be filled with struggles for gold when the date arrives!"

It was about time to rake in money, I mused as I stared at the distant skies. Since I wanted to go back so much, just thinking would get me nowhere. I might as well go all out! Next would come the first step of my Reverse-Transmigration Plan: Preparing funds phase!