Liangzhou, two thousand miles south, lies a prefecture called Zhangye!
On this day, nearly at the Si hour, the originally clear sky suddenly dimmed, as if shrouded in a veil. Then, the southern horizon somehow darkened halfway, followed by the clouds turning red slowly. It wasn't the warm orange-red of sunset, but a vibrant red like blood staining white cloth, as if a Blood Pool had spilled from the clouds, seeping down through the cloud seams and dyeing the southern sky, an oppressive atmosphere gradually pervading Heaven and Earth.
Many townsfolk felt a stifling pressure on their chests, much like the heaviness before a storm.
"Why has the sky changed?"
"Look at the sky, what's that?"
"Why are the clouds so bright red, like...like blood..."
"Pah pah pah, what nonsense are you saying?"
"......"
Many townsfolk noticed the anomaly to the south, unable to resist pausing to gaze at those blood-red clouds, feeling curious yet vaguely uneasy, whispering among themselves.
