Outside the western gate of Zhaoyang City, the biting cold wind whistled through.
After all, it was only the beginning of March, and although the coldest period had passed, there was still a chill in the air, compounded by the heavy rain a few days ago that left the air damp and cold. The wind scraping against the face still felt somewhat painfully raw.
In such weather, the citizens of Zhaoyang City would usually stay indoors or, at the very least, remain obediently within the city and not venture outside.
However, at the western gate, there was now a large crowd gathered. Apart from a group of about a thousand people standing in orderly solemnity at the very front, the rest were divided along both sides of the official road, some in groups of three to five, others in larger clusters, together forming a line approximately four to five hundred meters long.
At a rough glance, there were at least tens of thousands of people...
