Dance with you

Chapter 62

The day of the flower banquet was a beautiful one. The sky, free of even the smallest of clouds, glowed a brilliant blue and the sun shone brightly upon the ocean of peonies surrounding Koi Tower. It was a day many people would remember for years to come.
However not because of the weather nor the luxurious decorations and lanterns casting Koi Tower in an ethereal golden sheen.
The people of Lanling looked on with awe as cultivators in all colors of the rainbow made their way through the town.

Jin Zixuan was almost vibrating out of his skin from nervousness, only contained by the fact that he was sitting at the head of the Great Hall next to his mother and he really didn't want to embarrass himself in front of the guests already present. There was only one question occupying his thoughts.

Was the Shen Sect going to attend?

They had sent them an invitation but that had apparently gone horribly wrong, something that wasn't as surprising as it should have been since he found out who his father had sent to deliver the message. And so far there had been no sign or glimpse of aquamarine robes anywhere. Maybe they had decided to ignore the invitation. Zixuan would be sad about it but he couldn't blame them.
He didn't know what kind of drama Jin Zixun had caused but it had to have been big to end the long standing if strained relations between their Sects.
Especially since Shen Zhihao seemed like such a reasonable and understanding person the few times he could remember interacting with him. He remembered pools of dark amber, calm and understanding when he couldn't find it in himself to do anything other than scream and break under his emotions and the responsibility.
Zixuan misses the safety he felt as he held eye contact with the man.

But as he looked around the Great Hall, he noted that if they had decided to come, they should already be here by now. They were one of the Sects residing closest to the Jin Sect and thus had always been one of the first Sects to arrive at any event held at Koi Tower.

Zixuan was pulled from his thoughts when he spied brilliantly white robes in his periphery. As the Lan Sect entered, their entourage led by Lan Xichen, they seemed to glow and bathe their surroundings in an aura of quiet and calm. Zixuan found a little spark of jealousy light up inside himself, something he was used to feeling in the regal presence of the Main clan of the Lan family.
Their calm was something he had longed to possess in many moments of his life. While Lan Xichen greeted his father, Zixuan managed to catch Lan Wangji's eye from where he was standing behind his older brother and gave him a meaningful nod. If there was another good thing that came from the war, next to the defeat of the Wen Sect, it was the new understanding Zixuan felt for his peers. Somewhere in the midst of chaos and war, a connection had formed between all of them. Lan Wangji returned his nod, if more subtle.

But then his attention was already pulled back to the entrance.

There, following in the Lan's shadow but not any less regal in comparison, the Shen Sect delegation crossed the threshold in flowing robes.
Shen Zhihao and Shen Hua crossed the distance between the dais and the entrance in a few moments, almost as if they were floating. The disciples behind them exuded confidence with each stride and their heads were held high even though they didn't quite reach the sheer presence of their leaders.
Shen Zhihao's expression was calm but cold as he regarded Jin Guangshan, his greeting well articulated but not one word longer than necessary and his present was an assortment of exotic fruit.

Zixuan knew his father would discard the fruit as soon as he could since he did not care for most fruit until it had been turned into wine with only few exceptions.

As they rose from their bows, Shen Hua's gaze fell onto Madam Jin before catching Zixuan's. He couldn't help but let out a silent breath of relief as her expression softened and her head subtly inclined in a greeting that made Zixuan feel unfathomably warm despite its simplicity.