Chapter 12: Thrown Out

After the feng shui of the Five Elements Array was broken, it would take three days for the feng shui of the Five Elements Land to recover. Understandably, during these three days, Ou Xinlai finally enjoyed some peace. Under the guise of recuperation, she locked herself in her room for three days straight, never stepping out, nor contacting anyone, to the point of not eating or drinking.

The members of the Ou family speculated that although Ou Xinlai had entered the Five Elements Array this time, the array's feng shui was sabotaged halfway through. The stimulation from the Five Elements Array failed to awaken her supernatural abilities, leaving her deeply affected and unwilling to face others, fearing their ridicule.

They guessed a little correctly, but mostly wrong.

Ou Xinlai, confined to her room, was not idly hiding; she was practicing her skills. In her previous life, she was an orphan, but at the age of five, she had the fortune to meet an exceptionally skilled traditional physician. This physician’s understanding of the human body far surpassed the medical knowledge of the world at the time. Following him, she studied for nearly twenty years, mastering the art of healing with medicine—and, when needed, taking lives with it.

This explained how Ou Xinlai, with a simple pine needle, could make Ou Xinyu’s hand go numb, and with a subtle gesture, cause Ou Xinya’s intestines to become blocked, leading to unbearable pain.

In these few days since her arrival, Ou Xinlai had fully understood her current situation. The original owner’s supernatural powers had not awakened. Relying on being the clan leader’s daughter and the fiancée of Prince Xuan, she had become complacent, focusing only on winning his heart, believing that was enough to survive.

But the Ou Xinlai of now was not that kind of person.

Relying on others was never as dependable as relying on oneself; no one was as trustworthy as oneself!

Ou Xinlai sat cross-legged on her bed, circulating the energy throughout her body. If she could choose, she would gladly “go with the flow” and awaken her supernatural abilities. Otherwise, without her father’s protection, she would be seen as weaker than an ant in the eyes of others.

However, it seemed this body was truly unsuitable for cultivating supernatural abilities. After leaving the Five Elements Array, Ou Xinlai finally accepted this. But it didn’t matter—if one path was blocked, another would open. If she couldn’t cultivate supernatural abilities, she would pursue her medical career, saving lives with medicine, taking them with poison!

This body possessed no supernatural powers, but its foundation was not bad. After several cycles of energy circulation, the blood congestion at the back of her head dissipated completely, her mind grew clearer, and her body’s coordination and control improved.

After all, this body lacked any prior foundation, but that made it easier for Ou Xinlai to reshape it entirely. For the first cycle, she spent nearly two days and a night; for the second, just a day and a night; and for the third, less than a night. Upon completing three cycles, Ou Xinlai finally felt this body truly belonged to her, regaining a semblance of her old self.

“Well, finally willing to face people?” Ou Xinlai had barely stepped out when someone caught her. In the Ou family, out of every ten newborns, only seven could awaken supernatural abilities before the age of ten. The other three, if their parents had earned great merit within the clan, would have the chance to enter the Five Elements Array.

Ou Xinlai was the clan leader’s daughter, and Ou Chenfeng’s contributions to the family were countless. So, when the younger members of the Ou family, whose abilities hadn’t awakened and who lacked the chance to enter the array, heard that Ou Xinlai had gone in but was rescued in a sorry state, some mocked, some envied, and some were furious.

“Ou Xinlai, aren’t we friends? With such a great opportunity, why didn’t you invite me along? The clan leader treats you so well—if you asked him to open the Five Elements Array again, he’d surely agree. Ou Xinlai, help me out, won’t you?” A girl of about fifteen sashayed up, her words dripping with jealousy and arrogance.

No matter how well Ou Chenfeng treated Ou Xinlai, that was their father-daughter affair. Who did she think she was—saying a word and expecting Ou Xinlai to obey, and Ou Chenfeng to comply?

“That’s right. We’re all children of the clan. If you’re going to waste it, you might as well give it to us. Our chances are much greater than yours.” The boy who had just been shouting stepped forward. “Ou Xinlai, don’t be the well-fed who don’t know the hunger of the starving. You’re just luckier than us. If you weren’t the clan leader’s daughter, you wouldn’t have had the chance to enter the Five Elements Array. One should know one’s limits—if you lack the ability, don’t waste the opportunity.”

Ou Jinju’s words were nearly spitting fire. He was one of those three unlucky children whose abilities hadn’t awakened. Ou Jinju knew that anyone in the Ou family who entered the array could usually be stimulated to awaken their abilities. But every activation consumed immense energy and required the Five Elements Elders to protect the process. Without sufficient merit, one’s child had no right to enter.

Ou Jinju considered himself much more capable than Ou Xinlai. Though, at sixteen, his abilities hadn’t awakened, he hadn’t given up, instead training himself externally. But Ou Xinlai, with her golden opportunity, squandered it. The more he thought about it, the more unfair it seemed.

“Childish.” Faced with the provocation of these two brats, Ou Xinlai gave them a cold glance, her lips curling slightly, sincerely finding them unworthy of attention.

“What did you say?!” Without awakened abilities, Ou Jinju was often mocked. He had endured it all, but faced with someone even more “useless” than himself, he felt he had no reason to tolerate it. “Don’t think I won’t teach you a lesson just because you’re the clan leader’s daughter! To me, you’re no different from anyone else!”

Ou Jinju reached out, grabbing Ou Xinlai’s clothes, seemingly intent on giving her a beating.

The moment he touched her clothes, Ou Xinlai’s eyes narrowed, her body swiftly twisting. Ou Jinju saw a blur, and before he knew it, the hand that had touched her was firmly seized by Ou Xinlai.

Then, the world spun. When he regained his senses, he realized he’d been thrown out by the so-called useless Ou Xinlai!