The Dancers' Competition

"Sister, she suddenly became like this. What do we do...?"

Mo Sanniang was pacing in frantic circles. In less than half a day, three dancers had already gone glassy-eyed, as if they had been driven witless.

They could not even remember their own names.

"It must have been her!"

Mo Sanniang looked furiously toward the Qin Clan and saw the Qin Clan woman looking back at her with a vicious grin. The moment their eyes met, Mo Sanniang knew the woman was behind it.

But what could she do?

Even though the woman had done this, Mo Sanniang had no proof. Even if she did, it might not have any effect on the Qin Clan.

For a powerful figure was said to stand behind the Qin Clan.

She simply could not afford to offend that person.

"Could it be... that my Mo Clan is truly doomed?"

As though utterly defeated, Mo Sanniang slumped helplessly into a chair.

The surrounding clamor, the worried voices, the discussions around the stage, and the jeers all seemed to fall on deaf ears.

She had thought the dance manual her benefactor had bestowed upon her could bring the Mo Clan back from the dead, but in the end, it seemed they still could not escape this calamity.

All three dancers were already in a daze and had forgotten every last detail of the dance manual.

They could find replacements at the last minute, but who could memorize the dance manual in such a short time?

Was this fate?

Just as Mo Sanniang was despairing, a gentle voice rang out:

"What happened?"

Chen Ning and Su Ling'er came in from outside and saw the scene before them. Mo Sanniang looked like an eggplant struck by frost.

He could not help asking.

The little girl had wanted some of the sugar figures sold outside, so he had taken her by the hand to buy some, missing the Qin Clan woman's attempt to poison the dancers.

Otherwise, with Su Ling'er's vigilance and cultivation, she would have seen through it at a glance.

Seeing him, several dancers hurriedly explained to Chen Ning what had just happened.

Chen Ning narrowed his eyes and muttered, "Playing dirty?"

At that moment, the competition officially began.

According to the order, the Mo Clan would perform first. Though Mo Sanniang was despondent, she still forced a smile and prepared to go onstage with the remaining dancers.

With three people missing, the effect of the dance manual's coordinated performance would be greatly diminished, perhaps even lost entirely.

Defeat was all but certain.

"Benefactor, I fear Sanniang cannot obtain the Star Essence Liquid for you this time. After the Mo Clan's performance, I will send the sisters of the Prolonged Beauty Hall away. Then Sanniang is willing to serve you like an ox or a horse, to be your servant for life and repay your kindness."

Mo Sanniang wiped away her tears and prepared to lead the dancers onstage.

But Chen Ning stopped her at once. "I don't need oxen or horses. I only need the Star Essence Liquid. In this competition, if I say you can win, then you can win!"

Mo Sanniang froze at his words.

How could they possibly have a chance of winning now?

The next moment, Mo Sanniang and all the dancers were dumbstruck. The three poisoned dancers who had been off to the side now stood up together and joined the group.

"This is..."

Mo Sanniang had no idea what had happened and asked in surprise.

"You only need to do what you're supposed to do. Don't worry about anything else."

Though she was still doubtful, the three poisoned dancers were standing perfectly fine among the group, leaving Mo Sanniang no other choice.

She could only trust Chen Ning.

Before long, the Mo Clan dancers took the stage.

Below, many spectators stared, transfixed. Every one of the Mo Clan dancers was fair of face and graceful in bearing, and three wore delicate masks that lent them an air of mystery.

Chen Ning, meanwhile, was in a corner, flipping through the dance manual.

Having the three poisoned girls wear masks had been Chen Ning's idea. Even if he could use a cheat to help them, he could not change the look in their eyes.

Chen Ning could now completely control the three girls' bodies, entirely thanks to the divine ability Bewitch Hearts.

He had not expected his first use of the divine ability to take this form.

Controlling them was not difficult, though. A single thought was enough to make the three girls perform the corresponding movements and coordinate with the others.

Chen Ning only had to flip through the dance manual and consult his cheat sheet to get it done.

Su Ling'er had thoughtfully prepared plenty of fruit, and whenever she thought her sect master brother was tired, she fed him a piece herself.

Besides, with Chen Ning's current cultivation of primal power, controlling three poisoned girls with no cultivation consumed virtually none of it.

He was determined to get the Star Essence Liquid.

Onstage, music began to play, and Mo Sanniang and the dancers began to dance.

Graceful and lively, the dancers swept their long sleeves through the air as countless bright petals fluttered gently across the stage. Their refreshing fragrance was intoxicating.

The spectators below stared, wide-eyed.

"Beautiful! Absolutely beautiful! I'll divorce my concubine when I get home, and tomorrow I'll call on the Mo Clan to ask for one of its dancers' hand in marriage."

"Calm down, calm down! Your wife is right beside you!"

The dancers continued to shift formations onstage, creating a scene of exquisite beauty that was a pleasure to behold.

Amid a rain of petals that filled the sky, Mo Sanniang rose into the air like the moon surrounded by stars, an orchid in a secluded valley. As she danced with the lightness and grace of a fairy, her multicolored, flowing sleeves opened and closed, veiling her and accentuating her enchanting, endlessly graceful bearing.

The audience watched in a trance, nearly forgetting to breathe.

Among the Qin Clan, the fat-faced, big-eared woman beat her feet and chest in fury, glaring fiercely at Mo Sanniang onstage.

"How is this possible?"

"How could she complete it? I clearly poisoned them!"

At that moment, a cold, fierce light flashed in the Qin Clan patriarch's eyes. "Useless thing."

"Patriarch, please listen to me! I really did scatter the Dissipation Powder. Look! Those three wearing masks must be the ones who were poisoned! They must be!"

The Qin Clan woman stared resentfully at the stage, but the longer she watched, the more panicked she became.

She was in charge of the Qin Clan's dancers and musicians. Because they performed for the dynasty's powerful and noble, she had prospered, but if she lost to that wretch Mo Sanniang, her standing in the Lineage would plummet, and she would become worthless.

Yet the Mo Clan dancers' performance onstage had already left her shaken and deeply unsettled.

"Th-this... is this a high-grade dance manual?"

The Qin Clan woman's face drained of color. She had never expected the Mo Clan to obtain a high-grade dance manual from somewhere.

"...Could she really have brought them back from the dead?"

Her lips trembled as she recalled how, decades ago, she had disguised herself and infiltrated the Mo Clan to steal that middle-grade dance manual.

It was because she had stolen the manual and murdered the previous Mo Clan patriarch that the Mo Clan had been left without successors and fallen into decline.

Onstage, the dance came to an end, and the audience erupted in thunderous applause.

"Bravo!"

"The Mo Clan dancers are truly in a class of their own!"

Everyone felt refreshed in body and mind. Watching a single dance had even improved their complexions considerably.

With such marvelous effects, it was no wonder the dynasty's princes and nobles were so fond of watching beauties dance.

Not only could they put on a show of refinement, but they could also reap considerable benefits.