The dome of heaven over the imperial capital was like a mass of spilled ink, dark and monotonous. The afterglow of the setting sun was just as dim. What sunlight remained filtered onto the lands like a gray cloak. The entire world seemed to sink down under the pressure. Even the clouds melted into the darkness of the sky.6

Pedestrians on the streets hurried on their way. Few people knew the details of the imperial edicts which had been issued, but they saw the blood-red dark swallows, and could thus guess that catastrophe loomed.2

And when the armies started moving, those guesses turned into reality. Humans of this time period had to deal with a lot of grief and sorrow. Darkness and gloom became the primary color theme in human lands. Then lightning crashed through that darkness, and heavy rainfall began. Though the wind did not contain the icy cold of winter, it did indicate that seasons were changing. Spring was coming. And yet those who it touched... still felt like the freezing winter would continue.3

Xu Qing felt it, but he had grown used to the...4