"Clop, clop, clop..."
Urgent hoofbeats shattered the stillness of the night.
At Changle Gate on the western side of Luoyang City, the soldiers guarding the gate tightened their grips on their spears and watched warily as someone galloped toward them out of the darkness.
"Who goes there? Do you have official papers permitting you to leave the city at this hour?"
Li Bie swung down from his horse and took the already-forged papers from the Knowledge and Practice Institute out of his robe. A soldier accepted them and moved closer to a nearby torch to examine them carefully.
Li Bie was frantic inside, but his face betrayed nothing.
The captain of the city guards walked over, gave Li Bie an indifferent glance, and waved for him to be let through.
The captain had seen Li Bie before and knew he was an exceptionally gifted disciple of the Knowledge and Practice Institute. Since he also had the proper papers, the captain did not question him too closely and let him leave without concern.
Two soldiers worked together to remove the heavy crossbar, and the massive city gates slowly opened...
Li Bie led his horse outside, his back already drenched in cold sweat. He vaulted into the saddle, and amid the rapid clatter of hooves, his figure vanished into the darkness...
"Fire! Someone, come quickly!"
Panicked cries pierced the night sky.
The servants of the Knowledge and Practice Institute pounded urgently on every door. Bleary-eyed instructors and students crawled out of bed and, utterly flustered, followed the equally panicked crowd to fight the fire.
Before the Library Tower, the flames grew fiercer and fiercer. Those who had come to help scurried about like ants on a hot pan.
The roaring blaze at the Knowledge and Practice Institute's Library Tower woke the