Darkness lay thick, heavy clouds covered the heavens, and an oppressive stillness hung between earth and sky. Fierce winds swept past, carrying a bleak, mournful air.
Torrential rain poured into the divine waters of the Yi-Luo. Lightning and thunder occasionally pierced the black clouds, and the sudden sliver of light made the common people shivering in the storm murmur prayers for the Lord of the Four Seasons' protection.
Within the towering curtain of rain, a magnificent holy city loomed in and out of sight like a wild beast hidden in the mountains: Great Han's imperial capital, the pearl of Chang'an!
Yet Chang'an now looked somewhat forlorn, touched by a faint air of decline.
Countless raindrops fell upon the city and its streets. Before they could form a flood, they flowed away through the drainage facilities designed by disciples of the Mohist School and likewise emptied into the great Yi-Luo River, whose waters were rising wildly at a pace visible to the naked eye.
The curtain of rain continued without pause, thunder pealing again and again. Yet those raindrops seemed to fall not upon the city, but upon Emperor Liu Yang in Changle Palace.
He stood beside the palace window with his hands behind his back, watching the curtain of rain joining heaven and earth. Every thunderclap seemed to strike his heart. His face was grave, and he had somewhat neglected the naked beauty behind him.
Wind, frost, rain, and snow!
These mighty forces of nature were enormous calamities for humanity. Humans always spoke of reshaping nature, yet migrated when rivers changed course.
A single flood or a single heavy snowfall was enough to destroy a powerful empire. Even a slight change in temperature could make humans die in swathes like weeds.
The beauty approached gracefully, his slender waist like a