War of National Annihilation

After the dust and smoke cleared, Shi Xinmao, who had led the Fu Prefecture forces in pursuit and arrived first, reined in his horse at the edge of a boundless expanse of potholes.

The soldiers sent ahead to scout returned with their feet caked in mud, reporting that there was no way forward.

Though the floodwaters had receded, the land they had soaked had become like a swamp. Once a man stepped into it, even pulling his feet free was difficult. An army of thousands upon thousands simply could not cross.

Shi Xinmao looked back at the Fu Prefecture troops who had pursued without rest, weathering the dust and toil. They were already exhausted beyond recognition.

They had struggled so hard and were just about to close in on the rebel army, only for all their efforts to come to nothing. Shi Xinmao threw back his head with a long sigh. He knew that once Wu Gongling had gotten away, trouble would follow.

Afterward, the pursuing forces of several feudal lords had no choice but to take a long detour, buying Wu Gongling another day or two to flee.

Anyone could see that this flood had not happened without cause. Wu Gongling must have breached the dike, his purpose being to block the pursuers.

The cultivators around Wu Gongling, Hui Qingping included, had all realized it, but Wu Gongling flatly refused to admit it. His hide was thick beyond measure, and he insisted it was divine power he had borrowed.

Even more outrageously, he did not hide it in the slightest. He handed the marriage contract Hui Qingping had written to the troops under his command to pass around, letting all the brothers have a laugh together.

Wu Gongling kept saying that Hui Qingping was already his woman, ordering the