Xianyang, 213 BC

Whimpers and groans could be heard from the group of bloodied and tattered prisoners.  Surrounding them as they walked along the darkened forest were a group of soldiers, some riding on horses while others walking on foot, armed in armor and sophisticated weaponry of the time.  In their sleeves were the insignia of the dynasty’s military force.


Some of the men, especially the old ones, lagged behind once in a while, only to be whipped by chains everytime that happened. 


An hour of trekking into the forest, faint figures of a group of men, also in armors, could be seen waiting for them, their uniforms muddy and dirty.  A few used shovels were lying near their feet, while torches were carried and hung around to enlighten the area.  There was a huge pit near where the men stood, one big and deep enough to be the base of a building.     


The leader of the cavalry, the infamous General Shim, dragged the leash of his horse upon seeing them, before dismounting himself from the horse.  


“General Shim,” the awaiting soldiers knelt.


“Is it done?” the General curtly inquired.  It was a rhetorical question really, because the deed was clearly done, the giant pit was right there for everyone to see.


“Yes, sir,” one of them answered anyway.


The General’s eyes immediately fleeted towards the pit before he inched closer for further inspection.


Satisfied with what he saw, the General turned to his men and nodded.  At that cue, the soldiers unsheathed their swords and forced the wailing old men into the pit.  There were cries for help and mercy but none was given.  Used to witnessing such scenario, the general stood in his place with two of his aides beside him.


Some of the prisoners tried to escape, but were kicked back into the hole.  The general observed them with bland, unfeeling eyes.  Even if they did manage to run, they would still die at the end of the day.  They had been fed with a small amount of arsenic before they departed this evening.  This pit would merely serve as a massive gravesite for them.  


One of the General's most trusted men handed him a heavy sack.


Shim Chang Min opened the sack and examined the content.  In it were books, a myriad of them, the lifeworks of the prisoners who were currently begging him for mercy.   He threw it into the pit along with the prisoners. 


“Bury them alive,” he ordered.


“Yes, sir!”


The sound of groaning and crying blended with the sound of shoveling, and as dirt were piled on top of the pit, the general took one last look at one of books that had been half-buried by sands. 


The title reads, ‘Taoist Alchemy : The Elixir of Life.’



General Shim stared quietly at his master before him.  The emperor was currently sitting on his seat while massaging his nose-bridge.   The emperor was of young age, only in his late twenties.  His expression was always guarded, but underneath that thin layer of ice in his eyes, the general could see an underlying fragility.  The same fragility that had drove the powerful man in this wild goose chase.   A chase to attain the elixir of life, the fabled liquid of immortality.


“All of them died?” the emperor inquired.


“Yes, Your Majesty.  Either from the arsenic, or from asphyxiation.  All of them have been buried along with their books.”


The emperor nodded  at his answer, but groaned a few minutes after that, looking like he wanted to hurl something out of anger.  The eunuch next to him sensed his dampened mood and immediately poured tea into a golden cup before grabbing a velvet pouch hung on his belt.  Inside the velvet pouch are mixtures of powdered jade and gold.  He pinched some of the powder and put it into the cup.  After stirring it with a silver rod, the eunuch presented it to the emperor, who immediately drank it.


“A bunch of bloody liars they were,” the emperor muttered derisively after he puts the tea cup down, his eyes hard.  He got up and walked towards the window.  In the courtyard outside were hundreds of men assembling something that resembled life-sized soldiers, only it was made of clay. 


“If they can’t avoid their own death, how can they help me avoid mine?” the emperor’s tone was dull, his eyes pensive as he stared at the hectic scene outside.


General Shim trained his eyes on the emperor’s back, waiting silently for his next order.


The emperor did not say a word for a while.  It was when General Shim’s knees had started to ache that he finally turned around, with a majestic swish of his long dragon robe.


“The map,” he sayid simply.  “Go and find the map.” 
 Author's Note:   Ugh, this took me so long.  It's been more than a year since I last update this, no?  The previous prologue will probably be changed to Chapter 1.   -sigh- I reread this thing and was so embarassed with the way I write back then.  Arghhhh!  Anyway, you people seem to like Jaejoong's innocence here, so don't worry, he will remain innocent lmao.  I will repost the old chapters, but only after I improve them and all.

This will be based on some real-life events.  Everything that happens here will slowly be explained in the future chapters.  

Anyway, hope you guys like the new prologue.  Ugh, I need a break.  Oh, there will be typos.