The Secret of the Eternal Emperor’s Jade
Stamp
Ka Wang Pang, Group 5: Fiction, Ying Wa Primary School
Prologue:
he Great Wall of China. It is intriguing that a wall made merely out of stones and
bricks can have such a prestigious trait in its history to protect the lives of so many
people. Perhaps what is even more intriguing is the fact that what was once built to
serve the best of mankind has now been transformed as an architecture that suppresses
people. History, it seems, is never complete without a sense of irony.
T
Chapter 1
I am John Freeman. I have always thought that it would be arrogant, almost cocky if I
was to say that I am an expert in ‘this’ and an expert in ‘that’- so I prefer to say that I have a
bit of knowledge in this and that instead; I have some knowledge in solving puzzles, and can
do a little bit of Math. I enjoy watching Kung Fu films and occasionally liked to mimic some
of their moves from television at home. Although going to museum for research is something
that my job requires me to do, I nevertheless relish the chance to understand more about
archeology and military history. Studying wars has now become my hobby.
It all began a few years ago when I joined an expedition to study the Great Wall as part
of my archeological research.
I looked out the window and stared at the clouds surrounding our plane, trying to distract
myself from the boredom of flying. I never liked flying. Not that it is boring, but more
because I feel that I am confined, like a caged animal exported from one place to another
without the freedom to romp. The only good part of the trip was when I finally landed at the
Great Wall.
Before the excursion, I was debriefed on the aim of today’s task before the group was
divided into 3 subgroups. I did not listen. Not much point really. What could possible go
wrong taking a tour in the Great Wall of China? So I followed everyone as we started to head
out.
Getting lost was not fun. Though to be fair, it was entirely my fault. The reason I
dropped back from the group was because I preferred to be alone. You never learn anything if
all you did is stuck around with your friends. But like my dad always said, ‘you always find
something when you least expect it.’ ‘Why is there a gate over there?’ I wandered to myself.
Since I was so far apart from everyone else, I did not see any reason to suppress my curiosity.