The altitude of the Spirit Crane continued to descend.
Gradually, an ancient, quaint city came into clear view.
It was dusk.
In the city, smoke from cooking fires curled upwards. People bustled about and the streets were bustling with activity. Vendors were gesticulating animatedly on both sides as if they were competing fiercely for the passersby's attention
Zhang Jing shifted his gaze away from them and looked elsewhere.
He saw that the landscape outside the city was crisscrossed with trenches and the soil revealed a faint dark red hue. The city walls were riddled with cracks and, in places close by, there were a number of dilapidated houses overtaken by weeds.
Desolation! Ruin! Silence!
The contrast with the bustling scene in the central area of the city he had just seen was stark.
