Chapter 31: The Compatibility of the Turtle and the Pig

Although Ou Xinlai was a person of ambition, reality was ever pressing. Shu Nuo Nüpan, Ou Xinlai had soaked in the Yin-Yang Lake for roughly a quarter of an hour, but it felt as though half a century had passed. Without finding a breakthrough, soaking in the Yin-Yang Lake was an act of self-torture.

Ou Xinlai was not reckless either; she had actually tested the other end of the Yin-Yang Lake before. If it weren’t for that bath a few days ago, when she ventured deeper and sensed the flow of water and an upward force, she would never have guessed there truly was another side to the lake. She would have simply assumed the temperature difference was due to sunlight.

When she tried the other side earlier, Ou Xinlai encountered no danger, so how could she have known that upon arriving at this end, she would be caught off guard? She had thought discovering the Yin-Yang Lake was a stroke of luck, but now she realized it was her bad fortune at play.

Just as Ou Xinlai wondered if she would perish from this ordeal, a gentle breeze swept past, and a leaf drifted before her.

Having been tormented so much, Ou Xinlai, in a fit of frustration, bit down on the leaf as if to vent her anger. Unexpectedly, as the sap entered her mouth, her agitation melted away, replaced by a tranquil calm, a coolness coursing through her body.

Unconsciously, she relaxed.

When Ou Xinlai’s mind and body surrendered, the tormenting temperature difference of the Yin-Yang Lake ceased to afflict her. Yet, to say she was comfortable would be an exaggeration.

She furrowed her brow, thinking how wonderful it would be to transfer the cold from her left side to her right, and the heat from her right to her left.

At that moment, inspiration struck—she recalled the Taiji diagram, half black, half white, symbolizing the harmony of yin and yang. Her own cold and hot sides mirrored this relationship perfectly.

With a sudden clarity, Ou Xinlai calmed herself within the lake, opened all her meridians, and sought to accelerate her blood circulation. Her body became like a winding river, continuous and unbroken.

As she stimulated her heart meridian and her circulation quickened, she felt, at first, as if she were a weary ox plowing, struggling greatly.

Yet as her heart meridian drove her blood faster, the icy cold and searing heat gradually diminished.

“Where did you go?” When Ou Jinju finished his class and returned to Ou Xinlai’s classroom, he found her missing. Alarmed, he wondered if someone had taken her away.

Though the classroom showed no signs of a struggle, Ou Xinlai had been asleep, incapable of fighting back.

But who would believe him if he claimed she had vanished? Ou Jinju wondered if perhaps she had awoken and gone back to the Ou family.

He hurried to the Ou residence, but found no trace of Ou Xinlai. For reasons he could not explain, he returned to the classroom. Only when the sun set and darkness filled the room did the door finally open.

To his surprise, as the door swung wide, he saw Ou Xinlai stumbling in, exhausted as a dying dog.

She was hunched over, utterly drained, like a flower wilted beneath the scorching June sun, bereft of vitality. Each step seemed a Herculean effort, as if thousand-pound stones were tied to her feet.

“Exhausted,” Ou Xinlai managed, before her vision faded and she collapsed.

Ou Jinju was startled, rushing to catch her delicate form. It was clear her feet bore no stones. “You’ve slept for three days and nights, and you’re still tired? Who are you complaining to?” Watching her slumber in his arms, Ou Jinju’s teeth itched with frustration.

“Wake up! Where did you just go? Are you planning to return to the Ou family?” Ou Xinlai had been absent for three days. Shouldn’t she report her safety? The clan leader already knew; if asked, should he say he knew her whereabouts, or admit ignorance like with Ou Xinya?

A thousand questions plagued Ou Jinju, but the culprit slept sweetly, unmoved by his shouts.

Seeing her sleep so soundly, he was speechless. He had always thought Ou Xinlai was merely useless, but now she had become a lazy worm, sleeping endlessly. After three days, she still dared to complain of fatigue—had she come down with some strange illness?

After some hesitation, Ou Jinju decided to leave her in the classroom. She had insisted she didn’t like being taken home without permission.

Ou Jinju’s mind twisted in knots as Ou Xinlai slept on, making him question his own worth—she cared not at all, so why should he?

Watching her sleep, he gritted his teeth, grabbed a brush from the desk, and boldly drew an ancient turtle on her left cheek and a plump piglet on her right. For only these two creatures, he believed, could truly match Ou Xinlai!