Chapter 100: BAOBAO’S IS A CUTIE

Qin Yue hesitated before answering. "My problem is that we are supposed to work together. You keep teaching her every step while the rest of us have to figure things out ourselves. We are new to this too, so it is not unreasonable for us to expect some guidance from the person who already knows how to do it."

Wei Chen nodded as he continued sorting his ingredients. "That is what I meant earlier. We are not asking you to do everything. We just want you to explain things when we do not understand them. If you already know the remedy, then helping the whole team should not be difficult."

Luo Sheng glanced toward Baozi before adding, "And I do not think anyone is trying to make things difficult for her. We just need to finish the practical within the lesson. If she needs more time for each step, we have to account for that."

Li Yan listened until Qin Yue glanced toward Baozi again and said, "Besides, how are we supposed to work efficiently if she cannot even hear the teacher? She will always need someone beside her explaining everything."

Baozi’s expression fell as she lowered her head over the notes.

Li Yan put down the herb in his hand and looked at the three students. Their complaints about the practical had been understandable, but they had crossed the line when they turned their frustration toward Baozi instead of dealing with the real problem.

They had heard the teacher, received the same materials, and had plenty of chances to ask questions, yet they had spent most of the lesson waiting for him to guide them.

He disliked lazy people the most; they were always looking for the easy way out. Did they forget he was a new disciple too?

"I don’t take too kindly to bullying. If I were you, I would shut my mouth and focus on learning."

Wei Chen immediately shook his head. "We are not bullying her. I only said that the team needs to work efficiently. I thought you would understand that since you were the one who decided to take charge of the practical."

Luo Sheng looked at Li Yan before explaining himself. "We are not blaming her for something she cannot control. I only want to know what we are supposed to do. You could have told us where to begin instead of assuming we were deliberately sitting around."

Qin Yue still looked embarrassed, but she refused to back down completely. "You are treating us as though we are stupid for needing help. We have never made these remedies before, and you clearly have more experience than we do. If you want us to participate, then you should teach all of us."

Li Yan looked at the ingredients scattered across their side of the table. None of the three had taken proper notes, and they had barely touched their materials until he started answering their questions.

He had no problem helping someone who genuinely wanted to learn, but their behavior had made it obvious that they had expected him to notice their confusion and solve it for them.

"You had the same teacher I did, the same ingredients, and the same chance to listen. You chose not to take notes, then sat there waiting for me to do the work. Now you are upset because I decided to teach someone who actually wants to learn. If you genuinely need help, ask a proper question instead of sitting there doing nothing and blaming someone else for your lack of preparation. Also, I am not obligated to help you; I am a new disciple as well."

Li Yan sighed as he looked at the three students, already feeling a headache coming on from having to explain the same thing repeatedly. He had answered their questions several times, yet they still seemed uncertain about the order of the steps. Rather than waste the rest of the practical arguing with them, he decided to demonstrate the entire process once more and make it clear that he would not repeat himself after that.

"I will show everyone this only once. If you still do not get it, the teacher is right over there. You can meet her and ask her yourself. I am here to learn too, not spend the entire class teaching people who refused to pay attention."

The three students finally turned their attention toward the remedy as Li Yan began the preparation again. He moved through each step at a steady pace, explaining what he was doing while handling the ingredients.

He showed them how to prepare each component before adding it to the mixture. This time, Wei Chen, Luo Sheng, and Qin Yue followed closely, since none of them wanted to admit they still could not understand the process after another explanation.

Baozi watched from beside him, following the same steps with the notes beside her.

Whenever Li Yan reached an important part of the process, he made sure she could see his hands clearly before continuing. By the time he finished the demonstration, the three students had started working on their own portions. Baozi continued preparing hers, checking the notes whenever she needed them.

The rest of the lesson passed without another argument. Li Yan kept his attention on the remedy, correcting mistakes when necessary without getting dragged into another discussion. When Madam Nalan finally announced that the class had ended, Li Yan felt more stressed than he had expected from what should have been a simple beginner lesson.

He gathered his things and looked around the room for Gu Jun, expecting to find him among the other students. After searching through the crowd several times without seeing him, Li Yan frowned.

Had Gu Jun skipped the class? He could not remember seeing him enter the alchemy room, so he decided to ask him about it later.

Since they had no other lectures scheduled, Li Yan packed away his notes before preparing to head toward his master’s residence. He stopped when he remembered Baozi was going in another direction.

"Baobao, I’m heading to my master’s residence. Will you head home from here?"

Baozi shook her head with a small smile before pointing toward another part of the sect. "I will go to embroidery class. I decorated my robe myself, so I have to go there now."

Li Yan looked at the pale blue robe she wore and paid closer attention to the decorations. The embroidery differed from the standard robes worn by the other disciples, making it obvious that she had spent time adding the patterns herself. He nodded before reaching over to pat her head. Now that he had taken a better look at her robes, it was actually not so bad.

"I can see that. It is very lovely."

Baozi’s smile widened at his words. She gave him a small wave before turning toward the path leading to her embroidery class.

Knowing someone would stand beside her when she needed help seemed to give her more confidence. Li Yan felt relieved that she no longer had to face everything alone.

Once she disappeared from sight, Li Yan adjusted his things before heading toward his master’s residence. He still did not know what kind of lesson Fu Hanzheng planned to teach him that afternoon. After the morning’s practical, he hoped his master would not give him anything too demanding.

His waist was killing him.