It took two days before she finally manage to accept her situation, although Chen Kangle will miss everyone that she knew on Earth and she's still missing them—even that nasty professor, Chen Kangle knows she have to get herself together and not stay here getting depressed and doing nothing but rotting.
After that headache, she recovered Duan Yanyan's memory that's probably causing her headaches. She wasn't dreaming. She wasn't hallucinating, and she certainly wasn't recovering in some hospital bed after a burnout-induced coma.
She had transmigrated. Into a world where people tamed beasts for power, survival, and apparently, societal clout. Fantastic.
How ironic that she was named Chen Kangle when she literally died in her sleep. Hehe.
(A/N: Chen Kangle means health and happiness.)
And in this new world, she was Duan Yanyan—a 17 years old girl who shared her name with the sound of someone choking on their emotions, lived in a shack that barely stood upright, and had a younger brother with big eyes and a heart too soft for this unforgiving world.
"So... what happened to me?" she asked Duan Yu one evening as they gnawed on some dry root stew that tasted like poverty.
"I also don't know, it was uncle Ma who brought you here, he said he found you unconscious in the outer ring of Wuhen Forest. You don't remember?"
"Luckily uncle Ma found you before you got eaten by some wild beast. You really should take care of your health sis, and stop fainting outside randomly." He grumbled.
Her spoon froze mid-air. Right. Of course. She forced a nod, though her chest ached. It wasn't just sympathy—it was guilt. Whoever this body belonged to, she had a life, a family—now only a younger brother. And now she had to carry all of it.
Duan Yanyan did have a fever when picking herb that day, even when she knew she was sick, she still went to pick herb. Chen kangle chuckled bitterly.
"Why did you laugh?" he said, bewildered. "Nothing." she quipped, funny how both of them died while sleeping. Well, she died after fainting.
It was all for her younger brother. Duan Yanyan plan on sending her brother to the village school and it cost money. Money in this world is monopolized by the strong and powerful, and with their dead parents leaving nothing but debt. It was hard saving money when half of what she earns is use to pay their debt.
Although Duan Yu looked to be 7 years old, he's actually already 10 and is in the prime age to learn beast taming. Duan Yanyan must really love her brother.
Duan Yu didn't press the issue. He just ate his flavorless stew like a champ.
Later that night, after he fell asleep, Chen Kangle sat by the bed and looked around their glorified hut. It's cold here and they can't even afford to light a fire at night. The roof leaked, the floor creaked, and the only beast in sight was a mouse judging her from the corner.
So, this was it. No parents. No money. An unstable job. And she was back to square one—overworked, underfed, and deeply, profoundly exhausted.
She found a small notebook among their few possessions. Inside were notes about herbs, low-level beast taming techniques, and a list of things they owed to the village. Debt. Of course there was debt. And a huge amount at that. She sighed.
How am I going to pay back all this debt, just seeing those numbers make me dizzy.
Apparently, Duan Yanyan used to make a living by picking medicinal herbs in the forest vicinity and helping take care of the tamed beasts owned by wealthier villagers. It wasn't glamorous work, but it kept her and Duan Yu alive. Barely.
"God," she muttered to the ceiling, "did I die just to get reincarnated into financial ruin again?"
The ceiling responded with a drip of water landing directly on her forehead.
She wiped it away and sighed. If nothing else, she was consistent: always tired, always broke, and now with the added bonus of being hunted by magical beasts if she dared step outside the village boundary.
But when she looked over at Duan Yu—his face peaceful for once, despite the constant fear in our lives—she knew she had to keep going. If not for herself, then for him.
She might not be the real Duan Yanyan, but she was all he had. And Chen Kangle can sympathize with him because they both grew up without a parents. She went to the orphanage at 6 after her parents got into an accident, and because she doesn't know any living relative, she was given to the orphanage to add to their expenses.
After having Duan Yanyan's memory, she discovered that she lacked talent in beast taming and haven't had a tamed beast in her possession yet, even when she attended school for a year when her parents are still alive.
But I am different, I came from another world.
Thinking that, Chen Kangle tied up her hair, picked up that notebook, and muttered, "Alright, let's do this, Beast Tamer Style."
Because if fate wasn't going to cut her a break, she was going to choke it into submission with sheer willpower.
New life? Check. Same struggle? Absolutely. But she wasn't going down without a fight.
…
Chen Kangle feel tired and her eyes fought just to stay open. She didn't sleep a wink last night trying to comprehend beast taming and discovering that she had zero talent in it. She was excited that night thinking she might have a golden finger and talent for cultivation just like what those fantasy novels wrote about. Only to end up disappointed.
I shouldn't have keep my hopes up when I don't even know how I ended up here. Its all a mystery and it's making me scared, a little.
Why did she have to transmigrate here and end up not having something to rely on? she thought.
How was she supposed to survive here? In this new, foreign world? Chen Kangle is just an average college student, living in a peaceful world and with no experience. And now she was thrown here where the strong rules, and if she were to accidentally offend someone powerful, she'll end up dead.
She can only rely on picking medicinal herbs for now and try to figure out something later after she manage to improve their living condition.
Because I'm not going to sleep in that rag of a bed for life.
And Chen Kangle definitely need to change her habit of not sleeping, otherwise she might just die in her sleep again, that would be hilarious.
Picking up her tired sleepless body, she grabbed a basket and put it in her back, ready to go start her day picking herbs.
Looking towards Duan Yu who was still sleeping soundly in their bed filled with straws to make it a little more comfortable, Chen Kangle tuck him carefully under the blanket, which is just a couple of clothes that is clumsily stitched together.
Walking towards the village boundary, Chen Kangle met a few fellow villagers going in and out the village just like her picking herbs for a living nodding towards Chen Kangle—Duan Yanyan, she nods back.
Qinglin village is situated at the edge of Wuhen Forest, while being near Wuhen Forest is dangerous, it also gave them livelihood, as long as one stays out and doesn't go beyond the outer ring of Wuhen Forest then everything is fine.
While walking she skimmed through the book about herbs and familiarizing herself with common herbs seen around in the vicinity of Wuhen Forest. What to pick and how to pick them, especially the poisonous ones as she don't have the confidence to pick them while keeping herslef alive. Even though she inherited Duan Yanyan's memory, Chen Kangle thought that it's better to read it again to familiarize herself in picking herbs and avoid mistakes.
After walking for half an hour, Chen Kangle found some scattered low-mid level herbs. While picking herbs she catch a glimpse of a cluster of white leaf herbs. Walking towards it and crouching down to harvest them, "I might earn quite a lot of money today hehe." she thought.
She carefully dug around its roots to prevent the plant from being damage and place it in her basket. Slowly and steadily, Chen kangle manage to harvest them all.
As the sun climbed higher, the forest around her grew warmer, the light filtering through the leaves in golden streaks. Sweat clung to her back, and her arms ached from the repetitive motion of harvesting. Her basket was already half full, and she'd only been out for an hour. Chen kangle thought, maybe today really was going to be a good haul.
She took a short break near a rock shaded by a crooked tree, chewing on a dried fruit she'd packed this morning before leaving. It was hard and sour, but it kept the hunger at bay.
Glancing at her surroundings, she couldn't help but marvel at how different this world was. The colors felt deeper somehow, the sounds sharper, like everything here was alive and watching. Or maybe that was just the paranoia settling in—because, as much as she hated to admit it, this forest gave her the creeps.
Still, she needed the herbs. If she could sell a few bundles of white leaf and some wild qi mushrooms, Chen Kangle might be able to buy some rice and maybe even a slice of dried meat. Luxury, she thought bitterly.
Chen Kangle's fingers brushed against another herb, this one a dark violet flower with translucent petals that shimmer like shadows. She trembled. Chen kangle check the notebook and match it with a sketch—Soulshade Bloom, it calms soul injuries and enhances inner resonance. A rare herb!
"Nice! I've struck it rich." she exclaimed excitedly.
"Such a rare herb it will definitely reach a substantial price, I can use the money earned from this to finally send Duan Yu to the Village School, maybe I can even buy a guide book for taming beasts and still can buy a rice and some dried meat." she thought.
Her hands trembled slightly as she dug it out carefully, feeling a flicker of satisfaction. Maybe I wasn't completely useless after all.
Then, the wind shifted. A scent wafted through the trees—something musky and metallic, sharp enough to cut through the earthy smell of moss and bark. At the same time, the forest fell quiet. No chirping. No rustling. Just a blanket of unnatural silence.
But then came the crack of a twig—loud, deliberate, and close.
She straightened her back slowly, her instincts screaming at her. Something was here.
A low growl rumbled through the air.
And then she saw it.
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Hello guys I already edited this part and made it a third person's point of view. I'm still editing the other chapters. :)