Gorgeous Cover + Intense First Chapter!

I was not expecting this First Look at The Scarlet Alchemist to open on such a grim note (a corpse in a sack?!) but I admit it instantly hooked my interest. The time period reminds me of June Hur's historical novels, but with well-developed fantasy elements. I noticed that this book will be over 400 pages long, with a planned sequel; I hope that it can also work as a stand-alone, as many readers don't want to commit to a duology to get a story with a beginning, middle, and end. But what I've read of this one looks great and I am definitely interested in reading more!