He wandered among the tables laden with food, occasionally sampling a dish when he saw something interesting, observing the other attendees and carefully avoiding notice from anyone who might be inclined to engage him in conversation. He could understand why Senior Sister Yun was so determined to make everything about the ceremony proceed flawlessly, apart from the sheer expense, it wasn't just disciples who were present. There were also representatives from various cultivation clans, sects, merchant guilds, and imperial institutions. And not just from nearby regions, but from distant lands as well, he could see at least one man in the distinctive azure robes of the Northern Ice Palace, a small delegation from the Southern Cloud Alliance, and a dark-skinned woman in attire so colorful and lavishly embroidered that Wei Zian doubted anyone had failed to notice her. He idly wondered what this ceremony was really about, since these people wouldn't be here for a simple sect ritual, before deciding he didn't particularly care. People of that status lived in their own realm of existence, and had different standards of "importance" from mere mortals like him.
An hour later, the first ritual formation was about to activate, and Wei Zian made his way to Ao Jiao. She was fuming, and didn't appear to believe him when he claimed he had honestly gotten lost and couldn't find her until now, but she managed to restrain herself from berating him in public. He led her to the formation area and didn't retaliate when she "accidentally" stepped on his toes a couple of times.
"People were asking for you," she said finally, having tired of abusing his feet for the moment.
"Well, I was around," Wei Zian said with a small smile. "All they had to do was look for me."
"No reason why you can't seek them out now," Ao Jiao remarked.
"But Ao Jiao, we're performing the ritual movements. There's no way I would abandon a talented cultivator like you for anything. I've left you unattended for too long as it is," Wei Zian said, not a trace of mockery in his voice. It was a practiced skill.
She glared at him, but Wei Zian could see she was pleased by the compliment.
Sadly, it didn't stop her from dragging him off to meet one group of cultivators after another soon afterward. Wei Zian hated being displayed like a rare spirit beast, but he suspected Ao Jiao was following Senior Sister Yun's instructions, so he didn't snap at her. He was surprised his evasion had worked for as long as it did, truthfully. Wei Zian found himself memorizing various faces, names, and titles, despite not caring much. It was instinctive to him by now, and he did it even when he didn't intend to, the legacy of his family's failed attempt to turn him into a social butterfly.
"Wei? Oh, are you perhaps related to—"
"Wei Dai and Wei Fu, yes," Wei Zian said, doing his best to keep the annoyance out of his voice.
"How fortunate indeed," she said. "I must say your brother is quite talented with the spirit zither." She gestured toward the stage, where the sect's music disciples were performing a slow, relatively serene melody. Wei Fu was officially just another musician in the ensemble, but was obviously placed in the most visible position. His presence, as usual, attracted attention and comments. "What instrument do you play?"
"None," Wei Zian stated flatly. His family had attempted to teach him to play an instrument, since it was a fashionable skill among the wealthy (and those pretending to be), but were thwarted by the fact that Wei Zian was almost entirely tone-deaf. He had no ability to play music whatsoever. Truth be told, he wasn't particularly interested in it either, though he could certainly feign interest when politeness required it. It was one of his mother's greater disappointments that he had no talent in this area, since Wei Dai and Wei Fu were both relatively skilled musicians, Wei Dai with the guqin and Wei Fu with the spirit zither. They weren't prodigies by any means, but they were competent enough to impress the type of people who frequented events like this. "I don't have an ear for music, unlike my brothers. Personally, I'm more interested in how the sound formation arrays distribute the melody evenly throughout the hall, with everyone hearing at the perfect volume regardless of their proximity to the stage."
Sadly, neither the woman nor anyone else in their group could answer that question, apparently nobody else had even noticed it until he mentioned it. In fact, Wei Zian got the distinct impression that people thought it was an unimportant detail and that he was strange for even bringing it up. Bah, no appreciation for formation arrays from these people. Why were they attending a ceremony at a cultivation sect, again?
Thankfully, Ao Jiao decided to have mercy on him at this point and led them to a nearby table to get something substantial to eat. Several other disciples from their training group joined them, and casual conversation developed around them. Wei Zian didn't contribute much, since he found the conversation to be mostly pointless chatter that held no interest for him. He still nodded and smiled at appropriate moments, of course, brushing off occasional comments about him being "too reserved" and needing to "be more sociable."
He was just about to taste a piece of spirit-infused pastry in front of him when Ao Jiao nudged him with her knee. He glanced at her with an unvoiced question.
"Wrong eating implement," she mumbled.
Wei Zian looked down at the jade chopsticks in his hand and realized he was supposed to use the tiny spirit-carved spoon reserved for spirit-infused desserts. He shrugged and pierced the pastry with the jade chopsticks anyway.
"I know," he mumbled back.
That seemed to be the final straw for Ao Jiao.
"Wei Zian," she burst out, her voice carrying a pleading note. "Why are you being so difficult? It's just one evening. I know I'm not who you wanted as your partner..."
"It's not that," Wei Zian interrupted. "It's not like I wanted a partner anyway. I was going to attend this ceremony alone."