Lin Zhao, a doctoral student in archaeology, unearthed a Han dynasty jade pendant in a remote Qinling village.
His hand slipped, and the pendant shattered.
A blade pressed against his neck. It was called Jingzhe, and the man holding it introduced himself as Bai Qi.
The Lord Wu'an, who had buried four hundred thousand Zhao soldiers alive, was wearing a Uniqlo hoodie and had waited among the living for two thousand two hundred years.
"Help me finish that battle," he said. "The Battle of Changping."
Lin Zhao thought he was going mad. Then blue light from the shattered jade swallowed him. When he opened his eyes again, he was a Qin soldier: emaciated, his hands caked with dirt, standing in the autumn of 260 BC.
The four hundred thousand Zhao soldiers had been cut off from food for forty-six days. They were killing people and eating them.
Bai Qi spent sleepless nights in his command tent. Suspicion in the court cut like a blade. Behind him were the Qin king's orders to press the attack, and before him lay countless desperate eyes in the valley.
An archaeology doctoral student and a murderous general from the Warring States period.
Could two thousand years' worth of knowledge save four hundred thousand lives?
He would fight this battle with Bai Qi one more time.
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