As a lock of Ah Qing’s hair was cut off by the sword blade, her smooth ponytail appeared with a notch resembling a swallow’s neck.

The sudden situation made Ah Qing pause for a moment as she held her sword, but then she continued her sword dance as if nothing had happened.

She seemed calm, but the girls in the audience couldn’t remain calm, especially Huang’Er, Miss Qin, and others who felt so distressed they nearly rushed onto the stage.

The girls didn’t think Ah Qing did it deliberately to gain sympathy. Even though Ah Qing had shown superb swordsmanship and control before, she shouldn’t have made such a low-level mistake with the reverse-hold sword... but so what?

Women’s stamina often prevents them from staying fully focused for long periods. Ah Qing making a mistake only at this moment is already very admirable, and besides... this is a woman’s hair, representing their emotions.

Which beautiful woman in the world would willingly use her hair for a show?

Fortunately, the girls from the Flower Moon Building were relieved to see that only a small lock of Ah Qing’s hair was cut, which could be hidden by tying it up from a different angle.

Moreover...

It was precisely because of this small mistake by Ah Qing that the perception of her in the girls’ eyes suddenly became more approachable.

Her previously near-perfect performance and agile sword dance had also been awe-inspiring but created a subtle sense of distance. However, this inadvertent mistake brought her image closer to their hearts.

Ah Qing should be such a girl, not distant but approachable, capable of getting hurt...

Onstage, after feeling heartache, Zhu Pingniang suddenly had an epiphany and looked puzzled, "Wait, this girl Ah Qing might be acting."

Pretending to be pitiful?

With Ah Qing’s sword skills, could she have accidentally cut her own hair?

This was clearly an act.

The more Zhu Pingniang thought about it, the more Ah Qing’s current demeanor seemed familiar... because she didn’t want to be alienated by a bunch of inexperienced brothel girls, so she played dumb — isn’t that what she often did?

Zhu Pingniang always behaved coquettishly to avoid being seen as high and mighty.

Obviously, Ah Qing also didn’t want her swordsmanship to be a barrier to communication, so she deliberately made a fool of herself.

Hmm...

The more Zhu Pingniang thought about it, the more she believed Ah Qing was indeed acting.

"Acting?" Li Zhibai said nothing, just looked at Ah Qing on stage, whose pretty face was flushed and breathing had become more rapid, and softly said, "Not entirely, she hasn’t had formal cultivation. Her spiritual power and stamina make it difficult for her to maintain that state."

So, it’s normal to make mistakes during transitions. Li Zhibai thought it was quite normal, after all... for such precise control of the sword dance, if another girl without cultivation were to try, she might not even be able to stand up from a headache, so the fact Ah Qing achieved this level with her inherent Open Source Realm cultivation as a half-demon was already impressive.

"...You do have a point," Zhu Pingniang nodded hearing this.

She instinctively associated Ah Qing with her remarkable sword dao talent, almost forgetting this girl was like sitting on a gold mountain but only eating plain bread.

She had a sword dao talent but used it for dancing, to present her figure to please the audience, so she couldn’t have too high expectations of her.

"Speaking of which, sitting on a gold mountain and eating plain bread isn’t a bad thing." Zhu Pingniang stretched, thinking Ah Qing’s character was much stronger than Liu Qingluo’s. They both shared the ’Qing’ name and were quite unaccomplished, but Ah Qing didn’t inspire greed.

"But I think I still need to punish her." Zhu Pingniang pouted.

"Ms. Zhu?" Miss Lu discreetly wiped the moisture from the corner of her lips. Earlier, she had been genuinely captivated by Ah Qing’s performance. Her sword dance and posture mesmerized her to the extreme.

"Ah Qing performed so well and nearly injured herself, but you’re not even going to reward her and instead want to punish her?" she asked, unable to resist.

Zhu Pingniang spat, "What do you know? Her sword dance was good, but she was so focused on performing that she neglected her state and nearly got hurt... that’s why she should be punished. Today it was just a bit of hair; if she’s not careful next time and injures herself, nicks her arms or legs, wouldn’t that make me heartbroken?"

So she needed to be punished.

If she’s not punished, how will she remember?

"She’s trying so hard, isn’t it because she doesn’t want to let you down?" Miss Lu retorted, seeing how much Zhu Pingniang had invested in Ah Qing, ensuring everything was perfectly arranged. If she were Ah Qing, she would also strive to deliver a perfect performance.

"I don’t care about that. In any case, neglecting her condition is unacceptable." Zhu Pingniang shook her head and glanced at Yun Qian, who was watching the performance intently, "It’s not just performed for me."

"If you’re even jealous of Miss Yun, then I really have nothing to say." Miss Lu sighed.

"You little brat," Zhu Pingniang said, pinching Miss Lu’s cheek, unhappy with her tone as if she didn’t care about Ah Qing.

"..."

As for the banter between Miss Lu and Zhu Pingniang, Wen Li pretended not to hear it.

Even with the explanations from Li Zhibai and Zhu Pingniang, Wen Li maintained her perspective that Ah Qing did it on purpose.

Speaking of which, Wen Li kept her hair short not only out of habit but also because, during her early sword practice, it was for convenience—she used to use a long spear, accustomed to grand movements, and occasionally, hair got in the way when she switched to the agile sword.

Ah Qing was different. Her lineage and personality were exceptionally meticulous, so she wouldn’t make mistakes.

Looking at Yun Qian, Wen Li’s lips curled into a smile.

Nowadays... if Junior Sister Yun scratched her hair while practicing swordplay, Wen Li would find it perfectly normal.

No one knew how Junior Sister Yun managed to combine exceptional brilliance with moments of endearing clumsiness.

Well.

She shifted her gaze away from Yun Qian.

Wen Li wasn’t sure where the fleeting ’dao’ aura she sensed from Ah Qing came from, although she couldn’t grasp it now. She was sure it wasn’t an illusion; even with Ah Qing’s seemingly tired sword dance, the mysterious sword dao aura surrounding her was vividly clear to Wen Li.

This girl... must have some secrets.

’Are the secrets... related to the sword?’

Wen Li’s heart raced a little.

That’s the only reason she found the situation so out of place, mysterious, yet unnoticed by Li Zhibai and Zhu Pingniang.

She would surely report it to Li Zhibai.

But not immediately, since Ah Qing was still in the Flower Moon Building and couldn’t run away. She needed to carefully organize her thoughts before sharing her speculation with Li Zhibai.

After all, if Ah Qing truly had an opportunity gifted by the Qiankun Realm, besides their sect leader, there wouldn’t be anyone else.

If she pointed it out rashly, she might disrupt some hidden plans of the sect leader.

So... she needed to remain calm.

It was at this moment that Xu Chang’an’s voice suddenly reached her ears.

"Senior Sister, what happened?"

He had sensed that Wen Li was distracted since a while ago.