"No way! Zhao Erhu! Zeng Erniu! All these people have become scapegoats for Hou Sheng and Lu Sheng! If they're all buried alive and burned, it would truly go against the will of heaven!" Gao Liang spoke with unwavering justice to his two close brothers beside him. "Big brother! We can't bear to see these people buried alive. But the Qin troops are extremely strong—there are over a thousand of them, while we have only about one hundred of our own brothers. What shall we do?" Zhao Erhu and Zeng Erniu shook their heads and sighed. "That's easy! You quickly change into the Qin soldiers' uniforms! Look—right behind that vehicle! I've already arranged this in advance!" Upon Gao Liang's suggestion, Zhao Erhu and Zeng Erniu immediately understood and raised their thumbs in approval to Gao Liang, then promptly led their brothers to change into the Qin military uniforms on the vehicle at the back. In fact, the Qin military uniforms had been ordered by Gao Liang even before he entered the Xianyang Palace—ordered secretly, using the surplus official seals he had—making them perfectly useful at this crucial moment. Over a hundred brothers donned Qin army uniforms, led by Zhao Erhu and Zeng Erniu, transforming into another contingent of Qin forces—magnificent and imposing. Gao Liang, Zhang Yuping, and Li Fei watched from the sidelines, observing the formation. The great battle was about to begin! At this crucial moment, Gao Liang extended his right hand, clenched into a fist—this was the signal. Immediately, Zhao Erhu and Zeng Erniu led the impersonating Qin soldiers with confident strides and resolute bearing. To the Qin generals who were about to issue orders for slaughter, Zhao Erhu and Zeng Erniu declared, "The Emperor has ordered: spare their lives!" The Qin generals were astonished—hadn't they just received imperial edicts to execute these scholars? Why now, were they being instructed to spare them? They grew alert and asked Zhao Erhu and Zeng Erniu if they had the Emperor's personal decree. Gao Liang, now a celestial deity of cosmic significance, would need to employ some skillful maneuvering to deceive these Qin officers. It happened to be quite fortunate. Li Fei, who had just received an empty imperial decree from Qin Shi Huang, had High Guang mimic Qin Shi Huang's handwriting to write a line of words on it, then casually raised it toward the sky. At that moment, Zhao Erhu and Zeng Erniu were still hesitating. The Qin generals grew even more suspicious. Just at this crucial moment, the decree fell from the sky, and Zhao Erhu was about to raise his arms and rally his brothers to charge forward. As he spread his sleeves upward, something landed precisely in his sleeve. At that instant, High Guang signaled directly to the two brothers. Though Zeng Erniu was a sturdy man by nature, under High Guang's guidance, he now noticed clearly the yellow dragon-shaped object and immediately exclaimed, "Here is the imperial decree! Dare you defy the emperor's grace? Otherwise, you shall be executed on the spot!" The Qin generals looked over and saw that both Zhao Erhu and Zeng Erniu had now presented the decree to them, waving it back and forth. Upon closer inspection, they were amazed—truly, it was an authentic imperial decree. Zeng Erniu and Zhao Erhu unfolded the imperial decree and read aloud to the Qin military officers: "By the grace of heaven and the mandate of the emperor, the emperor proclaims: Considering that these magicians are first-time offenders and have shown sincere remorse, the imperial decree is hereby revoked and they are hereby pardoned and released. Any who defy the emperor's orders shall be executed on the spot!" Panting and bowing one after another, the Qin officers promptly knelt to receive the imperial decree. "Release them! Release them immediately!" one officer commanded the Qin soldiers carrying out the execution. Soon, over four hundred and sixty magicians were freed and fell to their knees, exclaiming, "The emperor is truly wise! We are deeply grateful for the emperor's mercy and sparing of our lives!" Yet none of them knew that it was Gao Liang who had saved their lives. They could not remain here much longer, or these four hundred and sixty would all perish. Gao Liang knew that this temporary decree was only a temporary measure—should it be discovered, disaster would follow. Immediately, he signaled to Zhao Erhu and Zeng Erniu. Zhao Erhu and Zeng Erniu were truly in sync—right away, they shouted to their group of brothers who had been posing as Qin soldiers: "To repay the Emperor's grace, gather these sages and bring them to the outer court of Xianyang Palace to perform a formal kneeling ceremony before the Emperor, expressing our gratitude!" The brothers promptly complied, arranging numerous carts and having the 460 sages board them. Under the escort of over a hundred brothers, the carts sped off toward a specific destination. The bright eyes suddenly focused on a spot slightly lower in the middle of the book wall. Yet, this "book wall" stood 50 meters high, 30 meters long, and 20 meters wide—collections of works from the Hundred Schools of Thought! Qin Shi Huang intended to burn all foreign state histories except the *Qin Ji*, and also required private collections of poetry and books outside the Imperial Academy to be delivered and destroyed by deadline. What a pity. But at this moment, all that Hou Guang could do was locate the specific book he needed—the *Art of Alchemy*—and retrieve it from the flames. "Li Fei! Hurry! Go to the front and remember—move as swiftly as possible!" Hou Guang ordered decisively to the woman beside him. Li Fei immediately stepped forward, facing the formidable Qin soldiers without hesitation or fear, boldly advancing. "Stay back! Or face immediate execution!" one Qin soldier roared. Yet Li Fei remained courageous, pressing on. "Ping! Follow her! Walk beside Li Fei. Remember—Li Fei on the left, you on the right. Then, I'll come up behind!" "Don't be afraid!" With high-light's reminder, Zhang Yuping stepped confidently toward the center of the book wall as well. "Ladies! Remember—just lure the Qin soldiers for three minutes, and we're all set!" High-light spoke softly, his voice just loud enough to be heard by Li Fei and Zhang Yuping. "Got it!" The two women knew exactly what to do. Li Fei deliberately swayed her lithe, serpentine figure in front of the Qin soldier who had been shouting at her, performing a graceful, foreign dance characteristic of the Gao Li state. Her breathtaking beauty, surpassing that of Mochou, instantly captivated the Qin soldier. She completely forgot to light her torch toward the central book wall. "For heaven's sake! You're not going to light it up already? The one over there needs to be lit sooner!" a Qin general bellowed. "Oh! Oh!" The soldier, seeing the general giving orders, finally moved his torch closer to the central book wall. "No, no, soldier! No, no!" The delicate, cooing voice of the Lady Li made the Qin soldier holding the torch feel instantly stirred. Wow, wow! There she stood—a stunning beauty, her slender waist gracefully twisting, casting flirtatious glances at him, her small hands gently caressing and inviting. For a moment, the soldier completely forgot he was on duty, gazing at her with a dazed, admiring gaze, his eyes fixed on her full breasts. Yet, Lady Li skillfully used her silk sleeve to shield his view.