The Hunt

If there was one thing Shim Changmin could pride in himself, it would be his ability to pull a poker-face.  A vein popped in his forehead as he struggles to maintain his composure while several yelp and squeak echoed from behind.  Now, most of the people he had with him were the best kind of people from the empire.  Having been in the battlefield for years, from severed heads to broken legs there was nothing they hadn’t seen.  It’s the newbies that were problematic.

To their defense though, not everybody could manoeuvre through the sharp, sword-like rock formations on the cave as though they were born on it.  Much less new recruits who weren’t accustomed to harsh terrain like them. 

But Shim Changmin didn’t really have a choice.  This expedition was huge and huge meant a lot things to carry with them which also meant more manpower.

He stopped for a while to re-examine the map, uncaring of neither the droplets of water that dripped from the ceiling to his head nor of the suffering of the people behind him.

The phrase ‘Immortal Red’ was written right on the place they were at, but so far Chang Min could see nothing in particular that might suggests of the presence of the elixir of life.  He originally expected a fountain, much of the folklore surrounding the fabled elixir suggested that it existed as a never-ending stream of water after all.  But after walking almost 5 li into the cave, no such fountains could be seen.  Could it be that it’s the ‘Pellet of Life’ instead of the ‘Elixir of Life’?  Though not as prevalent as the theory that it was a fountain, there were also rumors that the potion for immortality was made into small pellets. 

For now, that was actually very likely.  The Taoist immortals who made them probably produced them in the form of small pellets, so it would be easier for them to conceal the pills.  The look on Chang Min’s face hardened.  If so, the pellets could be anywhere.  The immortals could’ve put them away in a small box and bury them underneath the cave floor.

He tested the sturdiness of the cave floor with his feet before he visibly sighed in relief.  The floor was made of rock, it was virtually impossible for anyone to bury anything underneath.  There were also stalactites and stalagmites around, turning this whole place into a virtual maze, so unless the immortals planned on confusing themselves, they should not have the plan to bury anything underneath.  Tracing it underground was more difficult than tracing it above grounds after all.  But then again, those people were the immortals, not mortal being.  Chang Min frowned in mild distress.

“General, what is the matter?” his right-hand man asked from behind.

“Nothing, keep on walking,” he dismissed.

“Um, sir, do you think we should rest a bit?” his trusted aide hesitantly glanced at a couple of wheezing young men behind them.

Chang Min exhaled heavily.  Troublesome, they all were! 

“Let them be, Li Jun.  They can follow us if they want.  If not, they can just stay here and wait for the snakes to accompany them,” he said before he turned around and left.

Li Jun smirked lightly when some of the youngsters behind them gasped and immediately hastened upon hearing the word ‘snake’.  Honestly, snakes should be the least of their worry right now.  If they failed again this time, they might as well dig their own grave and bury their own body here.  The emperor would not spare them.

As they traveled deeper into the cave, more droplets of water trickled from the ceiling.   Whilst most of the elite soldiers were usually unaffected by external factor, the water was ice cold, the kind that stabbed you like needles.  That coupled with the fact that they had been travelling non-stop for weeks makes them want to just drop down and sleep.

Seeing the composed General Shim leading the way in front makes them respect him even more.  As