Chapter VIII: Time.

(Beijing, China. 1931- 1935?)

Luke walked around the confusing and over crowding streets in Beijing. A few months earlier, the Icelandic archaeologist had a mysterious letter written to him by a young man named, Wang Cho. As the letter mentions, he is a descendant who is trying to find his ancestor's lost tomb. An unknown Chinese emperor, that died in the mid-nineteenth century. It was an odd request, but he insisted as being his nephew's descendant, it was important to him to know more information about his ancestry line. The amount in payment was actually reasonable, it was the eerie suspicion about this man and this unknown emperor that made him feel uneasy. His older brother, Adam, told him he should take the business.

In the middle of a busy street, there was a small curtain about a tiny shop door reading "Jewelry Shop" in Chinese characters. Luke entered inside to see a young man in his late teens or early twenties, look up with no emotion on his face.

Unfortunately, Luke didn't know mandarin, or fluent Chinese. "English?" The boy asked with Luke nodding in shock. Did he sense I was confused on how to introduce myself? "Ah. That's okay. My name is Cho, I'm the descendant of Emperor Wang Tao. You are Luke Steilsson, correct?" Luke nodded.

"Why did you reach out to me? There are other archaeologists out there that have studied Chinese history."

Cho sighed, "We are in the middle of chaos here. We had recent wars, here in China, starting with the opium war, then the Sino-Japanese war, and currently rumors of another world war arising. Our time has been occupied with grieving, rebuilding, and modernizing ourselves and our military. We have no time for archaeology, but I am fascinated by it. There is something I want to return to the emperor as an offering of peace from my family and I. I want you to help me locate his lost legendary tomb, after all you did find some unknown lost legends yourself."

"If you're hinting the excavation of archaeologist Howard Carter, I was nothing but a minor apprentice. This is a complete different subject than a boy king of ancient Egypt! There are still emperors of China today!" Luke insisted.

"That's not exactly true, Mr. Steilsson. I have a key to unlock one major obstacle of finding the lost tomb of Emperor Wang Tao," Cho pulled out a ring and handed it to Luke. It was an exquisite oriental oval shaped gold band with an oval shaped solid jaded stone. Underneath the band, inscribed in Chinese characters, 'Wang Tao,' and 'Wang Xiang,' Cho continued, "I have found the Empress's wedding band, in a certain spot."

"From what I have researched, the only emperor from that era was your ancestor, Wang Min. Are you sure about this other emperor?" Luke asked placing a leather journal onto Cho's lap.

Cho sighed as he continued to glance at the train's window. "Yes. I've told you already, my ancestor has erased any royal seal or document that mentions Emperor Wang Tao and Wang Xiang. Doing research on any archaeological evidence is pointless in this case."

"How am I supposed to find a lost emperor's tomb, if there isn't any evidence of him ever existing?!" Luke was frustrated.

"Calm down. Trust me, you'll find it and make history over this discovery. Just be patient." Cho started to massage the Icelandic man's sore stressed shoulders. The Chinese man had an incredible arousing aroma about him. "Relax. Trust me, and relax. You will be the next Howard Carter in no time. I have absolute faith in you."

While enjoying the massage, Luke notices the wedding band of the empress around Cho's ring finger. "Could I take a look at the empress's wedding ring?"

Cho hesitated at first, but slowly pulled the ring off his delicate finger, handing it over to Luke. Truly an exquisite ring! "I envy the empress for wearing a beautiful ring like this." Luke said amazed at its graceful features.

"The poor empress didn't get the chance." Cho sounded emotional.

"Really? Why not?"

"The emperor was killed on the day of their wedding. They didn't even get a chance to speak their vows."

"Adam?" Luke looked concerned over his older brother. Adam's eyes never left Cho and his ring finger that had his ancestor's wedding band on.

"Something is strange about that boy." The Norwegian mumbled.

"How so?" Luke questioned. He seemed to enjoy being around Cho a lot, their relationship is strictly professional, despite that Luke would of wanted more than that.

"His aura, is quite odd. His eyes are always on that ring. Besides that, there's an energetic red string dropping down to the floor. I've heard of this before, first time seeing it in real life. The legendary red string of fate is around that ring finger, but it's broken, not connected to anything, but it is alive. The aura around his finger and the present red string is attached to the band, and is throbbing and pulsing like a heart beat. I believe it has to do with the original owner to that ring."

Luke rolled his eyes, "you could see his red string of fate? Just like how you could communicate with trolls and garden gnomes, right?" He sighed sarcastically.

"Yes, I can see and speak to them too! I'm serious, that's the legendary string that connects one to their destined soulmate!"

Luke chuckled, "So, you believe his soulmate is the original owner to the ring? His ancestor, the Empress Wang Xiang? She's dead and his ancestor!"

"No. I mean, he is in love with whoever that ring symbolizes. The broken red string indicates his soulmate is deceased, and his aura and red string is pulsing because that ring belongs to him, not his ancestor! Plus it also means, whoever that ring symbolizes, either gave him the ring personally or he was going to give it to them personally."

"He told me more than once, that ring belonged to the empress! That it is her wedding band to the emperor, but he died before the wedding ceremony."

"Did he even in fact mention that the empress was female?"

Luke turned in surprise, "what on earth are you saying? There's no such thing of a male empress!"

"Not exactly, but some kings, emperors, rulers, in the ancient and even the modern world had male consorts. Even some Kings were known to have male minor wives, with the exception that the main wife had to be female in order to give birth to an heir. Cho's veins seem to be special alright. He seems to have the aura of a past life circling around him. Which would explain why the ring and his red string are attach to one another. However, could he be the Empress Wang Xiang? That would truly explain why the ring is important to him and his red string."

"I don't believe you."

"You always say that.." Adam sighed.

"I was digging the area where you found the ring, and look!" Luke pointed to the ground, "there's a royal seal of an emperor!"

The look of excitement and happiness was placed on Cho's usual emotionless face. 'I have finally found you, my beloved. We are finally going to be together again!' Cho quickly turned to face Luke, "Dig! Now! Right now!" Luke confused, "I have to get approval from your government first."

"Screw that! I am asking you to finish your job! I need to see his body!"

"Who's body?" Adam replied from behind Cho, "Your red string and aura is in a exciting heart throbbing mood. Are you happy to see him again? How long has it been, your Majesty?"

"Adam, stop with this nonsense! Cho isn't the Empress Wang Xiang!"

"...How did you know that?..."

"What? Cho?!" Emil stopped to see rage and sudden emotion gracing Cho's face.

"I am Prince Wang Xiang and the bride of Emperor Wang Tao. Now get out of my way, and free my husband!"

"I...don't...I don't understand!" Emil replied.

"He really is the empress, he used you to locate the tomb that holds his and the emperor's bodies. It seems if you open the tomb, he could risen Tao from the dead so they could become immortal together. At the moment he's just a reincarnated mortal that cannot break this red string curse."

"A curse?"

"Why else is he so eager? I did my research from sensing his aura. He's been waiting a long time for this moment. No matter what, don't give in to his demands!"

"Shut up, and dig!"

"Tell me why?! Why couldn't you tell me that is what you wanted?" Luke started to cry.

"Because, my husband was cursed. So am I for loving him. His incredible beauty was a blessing and a curse, and whoever falls in love with him are doomed to suffer the same pain in each of their rebirths. The pain of needing him, wanting him, loving him, protecting him, and to be the only one who could have him! I'm not going to lose this time! Now, dig!"

"No!" Adam yelled.

"DIG!"

"I'm sorry, but I won't." Luke started to tear.

"YOU'RE USELESS IF YOU DON'T DIG!"

"I WILL NOT!" Luke yelled. "HOW DARE YOU, YOU USED ME LIKE A PAWN TO BE WITH ANOTHER PERSON WHILE I'M HERE IN LOVE WITH YOU!"

"You will never be as perfect as he was!"

"I may never be, but how long do you think you could repeat this cycle?!"

"For as long as our fate of being lovers could finally be reached. I've waited far too long to hold my beloved. I won't allow us to be divided much more!"

Emil stopped, and watched the man Cho fall to his knees sobbing. Why? Why was this whole thing so important to him?

"Could you please calmly explain to me, what happened?" Emil wanted to help Cho, but he needed to know why this had to be secret kept from him.

"Well, you see..."

(Cho's first life)

In the bed chamber of Emperor Wang Tao, lies a sobbing bride on the bed. Xiang was told by Oliver Kirkland, his soulmate was dead. The pain was throbbing inside of him, as his tears made wet marks all over the sheets.

A knock hit the door of the bed chamber, it was the royal adviser, Min. He opened the door a little, to see Xiang crying his heart out. "Excuse my rudeness, but Xiang, Mr. Kirkland has returned with Mr. Braginsky in chains." Xiang nodded wiping his tears and following his older brother to the main room of the palace.

There he saw a man of guilt chained around his wrists. The Russian was a guest appointed by the emperor, and was the emperor's lover behind Xiang's back. Oliver stood in front of Sergei smiling, knowing he wasn't going to be arrested from the illegal abductions of young Chinese girls for wealthy European men, he had Xiang's promise after all.

"See! I caught the man responsible for your soulmate's death! In fact, he was on a ship back towards here cradling the emperor's corpse." Everyone was stunned. Princess Mei covered her mouth in disgust. Min kept a poker face, in events of his older brother being deceased, the throne would pass down to him, especially since Tao did not have any offspring. Unless, Xiang was smart enough to challenge him for the throne. Being a half blooded prince, he could definitely claim that he was royal blooded and deserve to claim his late husband's throne. However, Xiang was still thinking like a wife to the emperor, not a successor.

"It's not like that, I swear! He was attacked on the ship-" Sergei was silenced. Xiang removed his dagger that he always had strapped underneath his cheongsam, and stabbed Sergei in his abdomen. Sergei quickly fell to the ground, clutching his stomach.

Xiang didn't want to hear another word, he took the role from bride to protector quickly. He was twelve years old when he became the protector of the Emperor after all.

"You know, that was a very harsh punishment." Mei, Xiang's older sister, said outside his chamber that night. Xiang wasn't listening, in his heart it beated rapidly for Tao. "I know you are in pain, but I know that big brother would of wanted you to move on, and marry Jia. Continue his legacy and all."

"No."

"Xiang, listen to me-"

"I said no!" Xiang snapped. "I want to love him, only him. Mr. Kirkland taught me a spell. A spell to finally reunite our love and strengthen the red string of fate." He smiled a sad smile.

"You know not to mess with fate! Are you trying to open a bad omen?" Mei shouted. He lost it, he finally lost it.

"I already worked the spell earlier today. Killing Sergei was just an act to start it. My competition for Tao is gone, it's just me now." He chuckled. He really was obsessed.

Mei stared at him like he was possessed by a spirit, he was laughing about killing a man and chanting spells. "What exactly is this spell, gege?"

"A reincarnation spell. It will reincarnate Tao and I until we meet again. Once we meet, our love will be mutual. No one will ever steal him away for me ever again!" He started to laugh with tears streaming down his face.

"What about Sergei? You said killing him started the spell?"

"Shi, I did say that. I chanted the spell a lot earlier before Sergei was caught and arrested. Mr. Kirkland said, for the spell to finally begin, I needed to eliminate my competition. Which I did. The funeral for my beloved is tomorrow, and I, his lao po will accompany my lao gong to the afterlife. Until we meet again, i'll have my happy wedding and my eternal marriage."

Mei was terrified, "I feel sorry for you, little brother. That spell must be a curse."

A curse to reincarnate a bunch of times to wait to find his beloved husband. Xiang didn't know at first, but he knows it now.

"You really have waited this long to see him again?" Luke asked after hearing the whole story. Adam felt that the story was true and Cho really wanted to his long lost beloved and break the spell. They all were sitting on the cold icy ground, about twenty feet away from the tomb.

"I thought if I could find the tomb, I could rush the reunion faster. My sister, Mei was a wise woman, she practically raised me before I met Tao. I would never admit that to her though. That she was right and I was a fool in love. I just wanted to at least hold him close, that is all was wanting these last few years."

"If you knew where the tomb was all this long, why didn't you dig it up yourself?" Luke asked.

"Trust me, I tried. It seems fate won't allow myself to enter. I doomed myself after all. When I get close, I can no longer breathe. That's why i'm back here in a safe distance. If I get closer I stop breathing, and it hurts a lot being deprived from oxygen. This was my punishment after all, I chanted a black magic spell and here I am waiting eternity for my prince charming to save me. I played with fate and all I can do is wait."

"So, technically you hired Luke to dig him up because you can't step within a few feet to do it yourself? What were you going to do when we opened the tomb and we located the burial chamber?" Adam asked.

"That is a good question, I guess I didn't plan for you two to not bring the emperor's remains out here. Honestly, I don't know."

"Cho, I mean your majesty..."

"Xiang will do just fine."

"Right, Xiang. How does this story end?" Luke asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Did you commit suicide or what happened?"

"Traditionally, when the emperor dies, all his wives, concubines, and closest servants are killed and buried with the emperor for eternity. Just because I wasn't technically his wife, I was going to be. I refused for any hussy trying to beat me as his tomb-mate, so I honorably killed myself."

"Of course you did." Adam sighed. "Now what?"

"I guess we have a tomb to open. Shall we continue?" Luke replied standing up.

"You would still help me?" Cho asked confused.

"Of course. No one deserves to spend eternity alone. Because you still love him and you need him to help you be free, correct?" Luke said helping Cho to stand up.

"That's correct. Xie-Xie, Mr. Steilsson." Cho smiled grasping Luke's hand.

Cho waited for Luke and Adam to return to him. He was getting all excited and also concerned. They both returned but with a sympathy type of look on their faces.

"Xiang, I don't know how to tell you this. That tomb doesn't belong to you or Emperor Tao." Luke said.

"What? Are you sure?"

"The inscription says it's the tomb of Emperor Wang Min and his beloved wife, Empress Wang Mei. Even minor wives of the emperor was buried with them. My apologies, Xiang."

"Sister and brother? They were buried here?" Xiang dropped to his knees. He was so sure that the royal tomb belonged to him and Tao.

"Do not worry. I promised you I will find that tomb, didn't I? I will find that tomb and bring you and Tao together again. I never break a promise." Luke smiled.

"Thank you, so much." Cho believed him. Most of all he trusted him.

The search lasted over twenty years, and there were still no traces of that tomb. When Luke finally died, he was buried in China. Cho died shortly from lung cancer, and his biological brother in that life, married and had a son that became an archaeologist.

That son was named Wang Yue, who had four children. His oldest son moved to America with his mother and his daughter. His second oldest son, stayed in China and eventually became an archaeologist too. He just discovered the long lost tomb of his ancestor's Emperor Wang Tao and his bride Wang Xiang. His fourth child, was born from an unknown mistress, and was put up for adoption as a young infant. That child was later adopted from an orphanage in Hong Kong, by a British family living in America.

It's funny how life changes, and Wang Xiang has been reincarnated again, as Leon Kirkland.

Author's Note: This was a HongIce Chapter, the ancestors of Leon and Emil have met before.

Luke and Emil have the same personality where they care for Cho/ Leon and want to help them be with their love. Even though, Luke couldn't keep his promise, he still keeps his promise to help Cho in their second life together, as Emil and Leon. This chapter summarizes a few things that need to be more imaginative than historical.

First off, there was incest marriages in ancient cultures, not sure on ancient China. I don't know the timeline when those traditional marriages ended.

Secondly, the famous Emperor burial traditions of killing the wives, lovers, concubines, and servants being buried with the emperor is true. They even had the funeral directors and builders executed so no one could locate the tomb and grave rob.

The last thing I love to point out, is how Cho is related to Yao and his family. Also more proof that Leon is related to Yao, Empress Wang Xiang, and Wang Cho.

Okay, terms to know:

Shi (Chinese)- Yes.

Gege (Chinese/ Mandarin)- brother.

Lao Po (Mandarin)- Wife.

Lao Gong (Mandarin)- Husband.

Xie-Xie (Chinese)- Thank You.

There were originally song lyrics in my previous chapters, but I was informed to remove them. I have read songfics in the past on here, but it seems that those authors will be targeted as well pretty soon. There is a Chinese folk song, that was popular in Japanese. The lyrics in this story was originally posted in here as the Japanese version. I only know the Japanese version. The lyrics were perfect to describe the scene, but I was told to remove them. If you were curious, please do look up the English lyrics to the song mentioned below.

Song: Tsumugi Uta

Artist: Hetaloid

-HetalianPrincess92