Chapter 320: Enhanced Memory
A few days had passed since Han Yu had started seriously practicing alchemy under Li Mei’s guidance. Their routine had become surprisingly structured: mornings were spent preparing herbs, discussing formulas, and understanding various properties of medicinal materials.
Afternoons were dedicated to practical refinements, with Li Mei overseeing his attempts and sometimes mocking his mistakes in that sharp, teasing tone of hers—though never harshly.
By now, Han Yu had grown quite familiar with the process of refining basic pills like the Minor Vitality Replenishing Pill. His actual success rate hadn’t improved all that much—he was still struggling to control the fire talisman properly. The reaction time was just a touch too slow for the level of delicacy needed in refining pills that required precise temperature control.
Yet despite this flaw, he had made undeniable progress.
"Your flame control still needs work," Li Mei noted as she observed Han Yu’s latest failed attempt, where the herbal paste had charred at the very edge of the cauldron, turning bitter instead of sweet. "But your understanding of herb synergy is honestly kind of amazing."
She plucked one of the burnt dregs from the cauldron and sniffed it before flicking it away with a wrinkle of her nose.
Han Yu wiped the sweat from his brow and leaned back, slightly out of breath but not frustrated.
"I’m getting used to how they work together," he said. "It’s like... people at a party. Some get along. Some don’t. Some need to be introduced slowly, or they’ll clash."
Li Mei blinked, then gave a small laugh. "That’s one way to put it."
She was impressed—not just by the creativity of his analogies, but the intuition behind them. The concept of herb compatibility was something that even many inner court disciples struggled to grasp early on. Yet Han Yu was picking up on it in less than a week.
It wasn’t just rote learning either. He understood what he was talking about.
It surprised even Han Yu.