The Little Teacher
Zhang Xuezhou had not seen Huo Qubing for a long time.
It wasn't just Zhang Xuezhou who was busy; Huo Qubing was also incredibly busy, spinning like a top. Even the most demanding Aristocratic Clan in Chang'an City, when guiding their descendants, found it difficult to meet Huo Qubing's standards.
Wei Shao'er sent Huo Qubing to the Imperial Academy, the new emperor sent Huo Qubing to the secret Shanglin Garden, and the Empress Dowager frequently summoned him to Changxin Palace to test his cultivation and strength. These three forces were three insurmountable obstacles for Huo Qubing.
Even the adult exams that Zhang Xuezhou and others participated in weren't this rigorous.
Entertainment is scarce in this era, and there are few ways to relieve stress.
That's Huo Qubing!
Zhang Xuezhou accompanied Ren Anran to the Imperial Academy, Ren Anran also entered the junior class.
This class primarily targets children aged five to eight, who learn basic texts such as characters and poetry, as well as fundamental skills in etiquette, music, and archery.
Huo Qubing's class was an adult class, which had evolved from the initial study of the Five Classics and Six Arts to student-led group battles.
Huo Qubing was the leader of an opposing group. Although he was the smallest in stature, he was the fiercest when fighting in a group.
"The young man opposite Huo Qubing is also quite good; his fighting style is reminiscent of Ning Que and others!"
"That man's Li Gan; he's from the Aristocratic Clan!"
Ren Anran stared at Huo Qubing for a while before turning her gaze to Huo Qubing's opponent.
Ning Que and others are considered newcomers in the third generation of the Scarlet Alliance State. They overcame numerous difficulties to be promoted to the committee as alternate members. Meanwhile, talents of Ning Que's caliber are still receiving education at the Imperial Academy, which makes Ren Anran feel somewhat emotional.
She only breathed a sigh of relief after Zhang Xuezhou introduced Li Gan and she learned that Li Gan's father, Li Guang, had once been a top expert in the Great Han Dynasty.
Li Gan was indeed very outstanding. Huo Qubing's group repeatedly charged forward, only to be pushed back by Li Gan time and again, resulting in a stalemate in the confrontation at the Imperial Academy.
"Hey, you surnamed Huo, did you try something sneaky with me again?"
When the group was locked in a fierce and evenly matched battle, Li Gan's expression suddenly changed. He was forced to retreat repeatedly. Several other people also had their faces change drastically. They pulled up their pants and ran outside, but before they could run more than ten meters, their lower clothes were already stained yellow, which caused the Five Classics Doctor who was inspecting them to frown repeatedly.
"Tch, you start making excuses after getting beaten to a pulp!"
A spear was driven into the wooden shield held by Li Gan. Huo Qubing looked at Li Gan, who was suffering from severe abdominal pain, with a hint of schadenfreude.
"Your despicable methods won't get you far in the future. You... you just wait, once I attain Divine Ability, I'll beat the shit out of you!"
"Let's not even talk about whether you can achieve Divine Ability through your Lineage. Even if you Divine Ability, you're not allowed to participate in teaching competitions if you meet the graduation requirements of the Imperial Academy. You can't beat me!"
Don't get cocky!
Li Gan frowned and shouted, his noble family's traditions keeping him firmly in the opposing camp until the defeat was declared, at which point he pulled up his pants and strode away.
"Master, how did I do today? Your Water of Eternity is amazing!"
Huo Qubing tormented Li Gan and the others, and was then instructed by the Five Classics Doctors to copy scriptures, but he didn't care at all and readily agreed to many tasks.
Although he accepted the punishment, he didn't truly enforce it. He had already fallen behind on copying hundreds of scriptures, and at this point, he didn't care about adding a few more.
After a lecture, Huo Qubing happily headed to the lower grades class.
The competition for adult students has ended, but the number of students in the younger classes hasn't even been gathered yet. Unfortunately, these students are all wealthy and powerful, including members of the royal family and even the current emperor's children. The professors couldn't urge them to start the class and could only wait for the students to arrive.
Looking at Zhang Xuezhou, Huo Qubing's eyes darted to Ren Anran's face, and after examining her for a while, his expression changed.
Don't drag me into this!
Upon hearing that the Water of Eternity originated from him, Zhang Xuezhou quickly cleared himself of suspicion and directly explained how to counter Huo Qubing's behavior.
"If I were Li Gan, I'd touch my own butt and slap you across the face!"
"Please don't speak so loudly!"
Huo Qubing's smug expression didn't last ten seconds before it changed color.
He glanced at Li Gan's cronies not far away and realized that winning would be much more difficult in the future. If Li Gan and the others disregarded their pride and did as Zhang Xuezhou said, he would inevitably get slapped in the face.
Huo Qubing didn't care about being beaten, but he couldn't stand being disgusted.
"This must be Sister An, right? She's so elegant, poised, and beautiful!"
Seeing that he could not please Zhang Xuezhou, Huo Qubing immediately changed his object of flattery.
He was only twelve years old, but he had met many people and seen a lot of the world. After learning information from Wei Shao'er, he became even more adept at reading people's expressions.
He complimented you on your looks!
However, Huo Qubing's actions backfired somewhat. Ren Anran had only been in Chang'an City for about two days, so how could she have learned Great Han so quickly and understood Huo Qubing's flattery?
It was only after Zhang Xuezhou translated a sentence that Ren Anran understood Huo Qubing's flattery.
"There aren't many people who can communicate with you on an equal footing; he's very capable!"
Ren Anran smiled and nodded to Huo Qubing, praising him in return.
What she said was true; talking to Zhang Xuezhou wasn't anything extraordinary, but Zhang Xuezhou's pace was extremely fast, and ordinary people couldn't keep up with Zhang Xuezhou.
Given Huo Qubing's naturally outgoing manner, it's clear that he and Zhang Xuezhou got along very well.
Considering Huo Qubing's age, and comparing him to many children around twelve years old in the real world, Ren Anran's praise was genuine.
"That's a bit difficult to translate. If I say it, I don't know if I'll be flattering him or myself!"
Zhang Xuezhou shook his head, and ultimately provided the translation as Ren Anran had suggested.
"Sister An, you really know how to praise people!" Huo Qubing said happily. "My mother said that Sister An is from the Western Regions and doesn't Great Han. As long as you learn from me for ten days or half a month, I guarantee you'll be fluent in Mandarin!"
"Oh?"
Zhang Xuezhou's gaze showed slight surprise.
When readily available reference books are available, learning a language is simple and easy for Zhang Xuezhou and others.
However, without vocabulary references, mastering a language becomes much more difficult.
His approach to Ren Anran's learning was to start from scratch at the Imperial Academy, learning characters and other subjects alongside younger children as a transitional method.
This kind of learning takes a long time, and depending on the progress of the professors at the Imperial Academy, it may take three to five years. The advantage is that it is smoother to enter the field of cultivation from official learning.
Zhang Xuezhou was genuinely surprised to hear Huo Qubing boast.
"You have that ability?" Zhang Xuezhou asked doubtfully.
"As long as you give me the money, I'll take Sister An around everywhere and I guarantee she'll learn to speak in a short time. If she doesn't, you can slap me!"
Huo Qubing patted his chest repeatedly to assure him, his eyes revealing eagerness.
After years of enduring immense pressure to study, Huo Qubing felt he could no longer bear it. He feared that continuing to study for such a long time would either turn him into a madman with a twisted personality, or cause him to break down and become an idiot.
Over the years, Huo Qubing felt that his personality was beginning to become unbalanced.
If there was anyone who could free him from the oppressive learning environment imposed by Wei Shao'er, the new emperor, the empress dowager, Wei Qing, and others, allowing him to return to normal, Huo Qubing felt that only Zhang Xuezhou could help.