There was one lady who was about Ai Hui’s age. Her elemental needle technique was like a group of active silvery-white fish and her embroidery cloth was like a calm lake. The elemental needles nimbly jumped in and out from the cloth, as if they had a mind of their own.
There was another seamstress whose elemental needle was like a hissing arrow released into the sky,. The embroidery cloth in front of her seemed like it had been woven with silver silk. It was entirely bright, and a very hollow tut-tut sound was made whenever the elemental needle poked through.
Another middle-aged lady had her embroidery cloth pinned beside a weirdly shaped stove. Each time, the elemental needle would sweep across the fire within the stove before carrying a flame with it and piercing through the cloth, leaving beautiful golden marks.
What he witnessed today completely subverted his prior knowledge of embroidery.