Kaifeng, the capital.
Within the grand city stood both imposing palaces and temples, as well as quaint residential homes and courtyards. The imperial palace was solemn and majestic, resplendent in gold and jade; the common folk's homes had blue bricks and gray tiles, compact and warm, convenient for surviving the winter.
As a vital transportation hub, Kaifeng City was rich in goods and densely populated.
Shops lined both sides of the streets. From dawn until late at night, crowds flowed endlessly through them.
Especially along both banks of the Bian River: whenever night fell, the lights blazed brightly, pleasure boats and painted barges drifted back and forth, and the lingering strains of silk and bamboo music floated through the air. Some people rose earlier than chickens, while others slept later than chickens.
To sum it up, the high-class had their low-class pleasures; the low-class who weren't qualified for high-class pleasures didn't even have the money for low-class ones. The moment those stinking outsiders set foot in Kaifeng City, they could feel the flourishing prosperity, bursting with life and teeming with vigor.
Later, things stopped working out. Several decades ago, the sky had suddenly gone dark, devilish qi swept across the land, and heaven and earth underwent an unprecedented upheaval.
Not only had the sun in the sky become somewhat darker than before, people were no longer as fair-skinned as they used to be either.
Their hearts had turned dark.
If it were only their hearts that had darkened, that would have been fine. The key was that horns grew from their heads, their hairstyles became a riot of colors, their facial features magnified both beauty and ugliness, and their body types varied beyond count. These bizarre transformations of the flesh granted individual strength in varying degrees.
Heroes used martial prowess