Heading into the little courtyard if it could even be called that, since it was nothing more than bamboo used to outline the compound.
Shen Mo finally reached the front door, He paused, then chose instead to head toward the back of the wooden hut.
There, he found an old woman with gray hair tied into a bun, sitting on a stool. Her hands trembled slightly as she fiddled with a knife, slicing through vegetable stalks while keeping an eye on a pot of soup boiling atop a clay oven connected to a chimney.
Shen Mo paused, gazing at the only family he had left. He sighed.
"Grandma, I've told you to stay away from knives and any other sharp objects. At least until I get your medicine."" he said, walking toward her as she turned and greeted him with a wrinkled smile.
"Oh, it's nothing, my boy. I prefer using knives to cut vegetables rather than mashing them with a mortar. That's more stressful," she replied, smiling at her grandson. "Is it just me losing my grip on time, or did you come back quite early today? Finished your chores that quickly?"
"No," Shen Mo replied as he knelt beside her, gently taking the knife from her old hands and helping her cut the vegetables.
"Then what is it? You never skip a chore," she said, patting his back while he worked.
"It's the clan's grace," Shen Mo said, wrinkling his nose.
"Hehe, sorry, my boy. It's capri leaves. You never really liked the smell raw except when it's in a soup," she laughed as he tried to bear through the sharp scent of the vegetables. "You said the clan's grace? I don't remember any special occasion that would warrant that. Or have the heavens finally touched their hearts and made them go soft?"
"No. Tomorrow is the core awakening day. That's why."
"Oh, I see. Hmm, it took them long enough to announce it. You were almost past the age of awakening."
Finishing the vegetables, Shen Mo rose to his feet and walked over to the boiling pot, pouring them in.
"Well, it is what it is."
Looking at the back of her only grandson, she grimaced slightly.
"You don't look that excited about it."
Shen Mo didn't respond and simply began stirring the soup. Seeing him remain silent, Granny Shen sighed before slowly and shakily rising to her feet. Grabbing hold of the thick stick she used as a walking aid, she headed into the hut.
Shen Mo paused, staring at her unsteady strides. Looking closely, he could see how she trembled with each step.
He groaned silently to himself.
'I need to get her medicine quickly.'
Turning back to the pot, he stared at the bubbling soup. The truth was, like every other young servant, he was impatient and very much looking forward to the core awakening ceremony but for a completely different reason.
To get Granny Shen's medicine, he would need a whopping sum of sixty silver sekers, and he earned only half of one per month. The only way to earn more was to become a spirit master of the clan. Then, one would no longer be a mere servant though still a spirit servant, they would earn far more than their mortal counterparts.
After staring at the bubbling soup for a few minutes, he carefully brought the hot pot down from the oven using rags. He took two bowls from the side, dished the soup into them, and then headed into the wooden hut.
A few hours passed as night fell, casting a gloomy moonlight across the entirety of the servants' district.
Inside Shen Mo's wooden hut, he could be seen throwing firewood into the blazing chimney meant to keep them warm for the night well, to keep Granny Shen warm. After all, they lived on a mountain, which made the nights unbearably cold.
"Shen Mo, I think that's enough for the night, my boy," Granny Shen called from her seat across the lit chimney as she knitted a patch of red-and-black clothes.
"Just making sure. I don't want it dying out while we're asleep," Shen Mo replied.
"You mean while I'm asleep. I know you hardly sleep until pass midnight," Granny Shen said, stopping her knitting as she stared at her grandson.
"I can't help it. It's the only time I get to think," Shen Mo replied, sitting down on a straw mat not too far from the chimney's warmth.
The fire crackled as silence descended upon the cramped hut.
Watching her grandson stare into the flames with that expressionless face of his, she couldn't help but pity him. The boy had gone through a lot from losing his father, then his mother, to taking on many responsibilities after she fell ill. It had affected him deeply, changed him. He had become different from his peers, a shadow of his vibrant self he'd been years ago.
"Do you still dream of becoming a hunter for the clan, like you once used to?" Granny Shen finally broke the silence, her aged voice sounding as though she already knew his answer.
Shen Mo gave a gentle scoff.
"No. Besides, a servant is rarely given such an opportunity."
"My son was ,your father was," Granny Shen replied.
"His time was different. It's a different reign now, with different rules," Shen Mo said calmly. He continued, "And even if I were given that opportunity, I don't think I'd take it. There are risks that comes with being a spirit hunter for the clan."
Granny Shen closed her eyes and rested her tired back against the chair she sat on.
"You do know you must at least earn some good merit to permit your children to undergo the core awakening ceremony when the time comes."
"True,but that's far off into the future."
"Hm. Speaking of children, it's been a while since I've seen that Lou Yan girl. Oh and Ji Yuan as well. Don't tell me you chased them away with your steel face," she joked.
Shen Mo smiled to himself, giving his usually expressionless face a faint new light.
The truth was, he no longer found comfort in their company. It felt as though he had outgrown them,outgrown the laughter, the ease, the innocence—now that he saw this life more clearly.