After passing through a pillaged village, the group arrived outside Liao City before dark.
Snowflakes the size of goose feathers fluttered down, beautiful and transparent six-pointed crystals covered the earth.
The snow now was almost knee-deep, and even with the roads cleared, the carriage moved with great difficulty.
Everyone looked ahead, seeing the towering white city walls, beneath which many people had gathered, some had already set up tents. They began to cook meals on buried pots, some women and children huddled together on carts or mule carts, while the men gathered and chatted about something unknown.
They wrapped themselves tightly in their cotton coats, but still shivered with cold. Upon inquiry, they learned that the people staying outside the city were those who couldn't afford the high entry fee.
