The closer they got to Wu’an County, the more intense Shi Lei’s ominous premonition became. He had to halt temporarily and ask, “How is the situation at Guangnian County? Can we pass through?”

Wang Yang said, “Scouts report that Zhao Ju’s Zhao Family Army has taken Guangnian County and is currently resting there.”

So if they went to Guangnian County now, it would be equivalent to charging directly into a wolf’s den. They had fought Zhao Ju before—that Zhao Ju was not easy to deal with.

With Zhao Hanzhang still following behind, if they were caught in a pincer attack from north and south…

Wang Yang shuddered just thinking about it and quickly advised, “Master, we should still go through Wu’an County. After passing Wu’an County, we can circle around to Anping State, or go directly to Shunyang Jun where our main army is stationed.”

After Zhao Hanzhang breached Shangdang Jun, Shi Lei’s survivors all fled to Shunyang Jun, temporarily using it as their base.

Shi Lei lowered his eyes in thought. After a long while, he asked, “Does Wu’an County have no Zhao Hanzhang troops?”

Wang Yang said, “There should be none. The forces Zhao Hanzhang can deploy—Zhao Ju, Xie Shi, Ji Ping, and others—scouts have detected them all. This subordinate believes she wants to form an encirclement with others at Nanhe or Julu, so as long as we break through the encirclement before she completes it, we’ll have no worries afterward.”

Shi Lei still felt uneasy, always feeling he had overlooked something.

But unable to figure out what, and with four Zhao Family Army columns indeed closing in on them—if they didn’t flee now, once caught and surrounded, it would be truly difficult to escape again.

Shi Lei still suppressed his unease and led his people through Wu’an County, wanting to reach Nanhe County one step ahead of Zhao Hanzhang and Zhao Ju’s encirclement.

But just after leaving Wu’an County, Shi Lei was ambushed. The other side displayed no banners, just hiding in the sparse crop fields by the roadside and dense grass.

Shi Lei couldn’t meet them face to face. The other side struck once then withdrew. But examining the arrows, armor, and blades they left behind, and turning over the bodies they couldn’t take away, Shi Lei couldn’t determine which unit they belonged to.

Wang Yang brought two sabers up and told Shi Lei, “They use two types of sabers. Look, this is the Zhao saber standard, this is an ordinary saber of poor quality that curls after a few strikes—commonly used in ordinary armies.”

Shi army also had many such sabers, basically issued to common soldiers.

“How could ordinary armies have so many Zhao sabers?” Shi Lei asked. “What about arrowheads and armor?”

Wang Yang’s voice lowered as he said softly, “The arrowheads also include Zhao-style ones. The armor collected so far shows no abnormalities, but when fighting, I clearly saw the leading squad leaders wearing Zhao-crafted armor. I struck with eighty percent force but it barely pierced, only wounding them slightly.”

Shi Lei’s heart pounded wildly. “This is the Zhao Family Army!”

“But the Zhao Family Army’s weapons and armor are all uniform. Even newly enlisted common soldiers get a Zhao saber. Why would there be so many ordinary sabers mixed in?”

Shi Lei didn’t know why, but he trusted his instincts. “Even if it’s not the Zhao Family Army, their ambushing us means they can cooperate with Zhao Hanzhang. We’ll take another route.”

Shi Lei chose to go east.

Wang Yang felt uneasy, very anxious. “But Guangnian County has Zhao Ju, whose troops are as elite as this force.”

“Guangnian County is so large. If we avoid populated areas, Zhao Ju may not find us. But the road ahead is unclear, not knowing who the enemy is—that’s the real danger.” Shi Lei insisted on turning, and Wang Yang could only obey orders.

As it turned out, turning was useless. In less than a day, they were ambushed twice more. Shi Lei was now certain they had encountered a Zhao Family Army force that knew their route intimately and their troop strength…

Shi Lei felt chilled to the bone. After barely resting overnight in the wilderness, at dawn he led his people north. To avoid further ambushes, he sent out many scouts to patrol the route.

Zu Ti rode his horse, leading the army directly blocking their advance. After two days of ambushes, Shi Lei finally saw the real leader.

Of course, he didn’t recognize Zu Ti.

So he only glanced at Zu Ti before looking at his banner. He saw two banners on the left and right of his army—one a huge “Zhao” character, the other a “Zu” character.

Shi Lei stared at the Zu banner for a long while before slowly saying, “Zu Ti?”

Zu Ti’s lips curved up as he nodded. “Indeed, Zu here. I’ve long admired General Shi’s great name. Today I’ve come to exchange pointers.”

Shi Lei ignored his words, only saying with a dark face, “I heard early on that you pledged to Zhao Hanzhang, but didn’t know when you came from Anping State to Guangping Jun.”

Zu Ti smiled slightly. “Zu has waited here early. If General Shi hadn’t come soon, I’m afraid I would have advanced to meet you partway.”

In a flash, Shi Lei understood. This was why Zhao Hanzhang had been unhurried in pursuing him from behind.

Several times, Zhao Hanzhang had pressed very close, and he thought he would have to fight a great battle with her before leaving, when scouts would report that she had slowed down to gather provisions.

So this was her plan all along.

She had indeed wanted to encircle him from north and south, but not by laboriously having Zhao Ju, Ji Ping, and others circle past him first then return to encircle—rather, she had Zu Ti advance south directly, setting his escape route for him and waiting at ease at Wu’an County to complete the encirclement.

Thinking this through, Shi Lei looked back. A scout came running quickly to report, “General, Great General, the Zhao Family Army has passed Wu’an County and is trailing twenty li behind us!”

Shi Lei’s face paled slightly. Looking around again, he saw the four directions were wide and flat. Here, forget an entire army—even a single person running a hundred zhang away could be seen.

Not easy to hide, naturally also not easy to escape.

This was the burial ground Zhao Hanzhang had carefully chosen for him.

Zhao Hanzhang and Zeng Yue led the vanguard in a rapid march, arriving first, while Fu Tinghan led the rear army, falling back a step.

Twenty li was only half a shichen for the vanguard.

When she arrived, Zu Ti and Shi Lei were in fierce combat. She stopped briefly, her gaze sweeping the battlefield, then immediately ordered formation and attack, striking horizontally from left and right.

Seeing that Zhao Hanzhang had indeed come, Shi Lei’s long-suppressed fury erupted. He turned to charge in Zhao Hanzhang’s direction.

But Zu Ti was fighting him—how could he let him leave easily?

One spear blocked his path, and they fought fiercely again.

Finally both sides fought to exhaustion. Zhao Hanzhang, feeling she had penetrated too deep into enemy lines, ordered the gongs struck to withdraw troops.

Shi Lei also took the opportunity to cease fighting.

Zhao Hanzhang and Zu Ti sent soldiers to distantly surround Shi Lei in the middle, the army divided into four columns. This being open country, Shi Lei had nowhere to hide or flee.

Wang Yang was covered in blood. Besides others’ blood, his back had been slashed. After fighting all day, his limbs were now somewhat weak. He drove his saber into the ground, using it to support his body, and told Shi Lei, “General, when night falls, we’ll escort you in a breakout.”

Shi Lei’s gaze was profound as he didn’t object.