With his gaze still locked across the field, wondering what more was being taught to the young clan members as they remained seated on the pillars, Shen Mo failed to notice the figure of a girl in similarly patched-up clothing, with neck-length chestnut hair and bright blue eyes, staring down at him.
Luo Yan hesitated for a moment before calling out,
"Shen Mo."
Hearing his name and sensing the figure in front of him from the corner of his eye, he turned his expressionless face toward hers.
Seeing that always steel-like expression, Luo Yan flinched before continuing, pushing past her hesitation.
"I wanted to invite you and Granny Shen for dinner. It's been a long time since our families dined together."
She paused, still seeing no change in his expression. "Besides, now we have something to celebrate. I've already invited Ji Yuan, and he accepted. He'll also be bringing his little sister along."
Shen Mo slowly rose to his feet before uttering just a few words, then turning and heading out of the class platform.
"Don't bother. We won't be coming."
Luo Yan wanted to say more, but hesitated as she watched his back recede farther and farther from the platform.
"Luo Yan, stop bothering yourself. We all know Steel Face is simply a block of ice. He'll never appreciate your goodwill," said another servant girl with rough, shoulder-length black hair and a plain appearance compared to Luo Yan. She patted her friend's back. "Don't worry. I can fill in his spot ,it's been ages since I've had your mother's delicious meals."
Luo Yan turned her gaze away from the now distant figure of Shen Mo and smiled toward her friend.
"Alright, you can come, Lin Xia. But don't bring your fat brother over—we don't have much food to spare."
"I know, I know. I just can't wait to have her boiled pheasant soup."
Shen Mo passed through the huge gate of the training field, his eyes glancing over it. He had always wondered in awe at its grand scale and not just this gate, made of mountain rock, but the many structures spread across the entire clan. He knew it would take a spirit master to build something like this. He couldn't help but wonder just how strong one would have to be.
Reaching a sloping alley that led downward from the mountain peak where the training fields were located, he turned his dark eyes to take in the vast scale of Black Ridge Mountain ,well, not all of it since
It was rumored to be so immense that even high-ranking spirit servants had never explored its full extent, even after years.
As for its name, Shen Mo could only attribute it to the rocks themselves, since most of the mountain was composed of black stone with sparse vegetation. Tossing the thought aside, he descended the alley, passing by other groups of young servants chatting excitedly.
If there was one thing to note, it was that they all avoided his path, as if he carried some kind of plague. Not bothering about the reactions of his fellow servants after all, there was a reason for it he finally reached a vast bridge that connected one mountain range to another. He stepped onto the wooden platform, crossing the bridge toward the servants' district.
Being called a district meant it was a small yet wide mountain range given to all servants of the clan to live on, so the bridge was busy, with servants old and young coming and going across it.
He couldn't help but turn his gaze downward as he walked along the edge of the bridge. Below lay a huge chasm filled with fog. His attention along with that of many other servants was soon drawn to a small squirmish occurring on the bridge. After briefly glancing at it, most continued on their way without concern. It was common.
A fight had occurred, well mostly a beating.
One servant boy was surrounded by three others. Fists were thrown, knocking him to the floor before they began stepping on him.
Shen Mo walked past them, only catching the defiant gaze the boy threw at his bullies.
He kept walking, not bothering to stop, even though he knew the boy.
Ji Yuan, an old friend from back when Shen Mo still believed he was naïve. Both he and Ji Yuan had once been close to Luo Yan, their families having strong ties. But everything changed after Shen Mo lost his father, followed by his mother's grief and then her death.
Since then, he had changed.
At least, that was what they said, his old friends. To him, he had simply woken up to reality and understood the life that lay ahead. Nothing more.
Reaching the end of the bridge and stepping onto the rocky terrain of the mountain range, he turned once more, seeing his old friend staggering bit by bit, clearly battered after the bullies had left him behind.
A small flicker crossed Shen Mo's eyes,just a little. With that, he turned around and headed home. After all, this was just the daily life of servants.
One would think that because they were all servants, they would share a strong bond of compassion and shared suffering. But no. Humans, being what they are, would rather find someone to pour their frustration onto antagonizing one another just to curry favor with their clan masters.
Just Like slaves. All of them including Shen Mo himself.
After all, he could have stopped to help a friend, but he didn't. That alone spoke volumes .
It wasn't as though he hadn't faced such bullies before. He had simply snapped and retaliated heavily back then, earning himself a reputation and an isolation he preferred among his fellow young mortal servants. As for the older ones, he rarely crossed paths with them, and even when he did, they mostly ignored him.
And he knew why.
They feared he might be lucky enough to bind with a stronger strength type spirit like his father once had. After all, cores were hereditary. If he was fortunate, he might inherit his father's core a solid one. Yet his doubts lingered. His mother had been a mortal, and that might dilute things.
Pulling his mind away from such thoughts, he crossed several wooden huts before beelining onto a narrower road that led to a small enclosure, where another wooden hut stood with smoke rising from its chimney.
"Hm, I wonder what she made for dinner," he muttered, rubbing his belly.