"I'm willing!" Princess Yushu replied firmly. Zhang Yuping was astonished—how could a noblewoman of such high rank from the royal court of Goryeo, a thousand-year-old lineage, willingly humble herself and become a common servant? Such courage was truly rare among ordinary people. So, with wide, amazed eyes, she turned to Princess Yushu and asked, "Yushu, are you truly serious?" Yushu nodded, took a bundle from Zhang Yuping's hands, and slung it over her shoulder, smiling and saying, "Master! Let's go! Lady! Hurry up!" Gao Liang and Zhang Yuping were both surprised, yet they burst into laughter at the same time, and finally clapped their hands in joyful agreement: "Excellent! Excellent!" In just a short while, they arrived at the alchemy chamber of the Qin Dynasty's Xianyang Palace. At that moment, six alchemists were gathered around a large alchemical furnace, their faces glowing with sweat, beads of perspiration dripping down from their brows. "It's all over! The temperature has gone too high! The medicinal herbs inside have all turned to ash!" one of the alchemists said, looking "If Emperor Qin knew about this, our heads would definitely be cut off!" said another alchemist. "What shall we do? What shall we do? Who can actually produce the true elixir of immortality? Who can?" said a third alchemist. As the six alchemists were despairing and wailing, Gao Liang, Zhang Yuping, Lady Li (Princess Yushu), and Zhao Erhu, as well as Zeng Erniu, all arrived. Gao Liang addressed them: "No need to continue! Even if we try, it will all be in vain!" "But without alchemy, we'll surely die! According to Qin's custom, we will be beheaded on the spot!" The six alchemists were nearly crying. "Have you found Li Er's 'Art of Alchemy'?" Gao Liang asked directly to the six alchemists. The six alchemists scratched their heads and said in unison, "We've forgotten!" "Then, truly, there's no need to alchemize! We'll just find the book first!" Gao Liang reminded them. "Master Gao! I have one at home!" finally one alchemist revealed the truth. There are just three days left until the elixir is ready—urgently urgent!" The alchemist quickly rushed out to his home to fetch books. "Zhao Erhu! Hurry and bring us the one hundred and eight kinds of pure, naturally sourced Chinese herbs!" Gao Liang issued his instructions. Zhao Erhu immediately responded and set off. "Zeng Erniu! Go now to the outskirts of the palace and buy some fresh fruits and vegetables—make sure they're fresh and free from pollution!" As soon as Gao Liang spoke, Zeng Erniu eagerly nodded and hurried off. The other brothers also began attending to their respective tasks as per Gao Liang's instructions. Meanwhile, five alchemists were preparing a herbal decoction according to Gao Liang's requirements. Gao Liang now only had Zhang Yuping and the Imperial Consort left. He asked Zhang Yuping to grind a pure herbal medicine into a fine powder, and asked the Imperial Consort to gently pour fresh fruit juice into the powder in a rhythmic manner. Gao Liang then used his chopsticks to stir it until it formed a paste. "You two—take this mixture and shape it into meatballs!" Note that these should be kneaded into seventy-seven, totaling forty-nine! After High Liang finished speaking, Zhang Yiping and Li Fei both began to busy themselves. In a short while, the fresh herbal mud balls, handled gently between the hands of the two graceful women, became evenly sized and firm. High Liang was most satisfied. It seemed clear that the two women were truly dexterous. Nevertheless, to produce genuine pills through his alchemical process, High Liang still needed to refer to Li Er's book, *The Art of Alchemy*. At that moment, the alchemist who had gone home to fetch the book burst in: "Master High! Bad news! Bad news! The *Art of Alchemy* is gone! My wife says it was taken up by someone!" "You must go find it right away! Hear me out! This book is absolutely essential—now everything is in place, except for this final piece of the puzzle! Do you understand?" High Liang shouted. Yet the alchemist, holding his face, fell to his knees before High Liang, weeping: "I'm too afraid! There are so many Qin soldiers! They've dug a huge trench!" Not only did they bury the people alive, but they also set fire to all the books! What a tragedy! What a pity! "Now we're finished! Completely finished! Dan won't form! Our fate is sealed!" The other five alchemists sighed in despair. "Quick! Lead the way! I'd like to find out exactly what's going on!" After saying this, Gao Liang immediately called out to Zhao Erhu and Zeng Erniu, who had just returned: "Brothers! Gather quickly and follow me! Let's go together!" "Yes, boss!" Zhao Erhu and Zeng Erniu immediately gathered their more than one hundred brothers, dressed as servants. The alchemist led the way, while Gao Liang, Zhang Yuping, and Lady Lifi followed behind. Of course, Zhao Erhu and Zeng Erniu also had a group of brave and strong brothers quietly armed and ready, and they set off. After a swift journey, they soon arrived at a large pit measuring 20 meters square. The alchemist hesitated and wanted to run, but Gao Liang ordered him to stay put. It's up to me to handle whatever happens. Highlight, Zhang Yупing, Li Fei, Zhao Erhu, and Zeng Erniu all saw that the Qin soldiers, dark and dense, carried torches that illuminated half the sky. In front of the trench, many people were tied up with ropes, and there were numerous books nearby. Highlight immediately made his judgment: the historical event of "burning books and burying scholars" had begun. The "burning books and burying scholars" took place during the Qin Dynasty in ancient China. In the 34th year of Qin Shi Huang's reign (213 BCE), the scholar from Qi, Chunyu Yu, opposed the then-implemented "prefectural and county system," advocating instead the ancient practice of feudalism by granting fiefs to his relatives and descendants. The Chancellor Li Si refuted this and proposed that the people be prohibited from criticizing the current administration or questioning the government through private schools. Qin Shi Huang adopted Li Si's recommendations and issued an order to burn all historical records of the other states except the "Records of Qin," and to have private collections of works such as the "Shi" and "Shu," outside the official academies, delivered and In the second year, two scholars of alchemy, Hou Sheng and Lu Sheng, secretly slandered Emperor Qin Shi Huang and fled in desperation. Upon learning of this, Emperor Qin was furious and dispatched an official to investigate. The inquiry revealed over four hundred and sixty individuals who had violated the rules, all of whom were executed. This event came to be known as "the burial of the scholars." Together with the earlier incident of book burning, it formed the combined event known as "the burning of books and burial of scholars." The scene that Gao Liang and Zhang Yuping, Li Fei, Zhao Erhu, and Zeng Erniu witnessed was one such segment. This time, the focus was on the burning of alchemists and books related to alchemy. Originally, Emperor Qin had placed considerable trust in the alchemists. However, these scholars not only failed to produce the genuine elixirs they had promised, but also fabricated grievances and secretly slandered the emperor. This was largely due to the actions of the two scholars—Hou Sheng and Lu Sheng—who had stirred up discord. Consequently, following Li Si's recommendation, Emperor Qin ordered the execution of over four hundred and sixty individuals involved. The scene shifts to The roar of the Qin soldiers sounded like a steel blade slicing through bone, sending chills down the spines of everyone present.