Elsewhere, Nangong Shi had already led his army close to Sishui Pass.
But before they even reached the outskirts of the pass, they were spotted.
Outside Sishui Pass stood a lone peak, its four sides sheer as if hewn by a blade, towering high and steep. Atop it lay a cliff spanning several dozen yards, shrouded on three sides in pale mist. At times, the mist transformed into vast armies; at others, into rolling tides. Sometimes it contracted and swelled, changing without end.
On that cliff stood a large beacon tower, accessible from only one side. To reach it, one had to follow a narrow, twisting path through a series of winding turns.
As Nangong Shi led his army past the lone peak, he knew the Shang Army had a beacon tower up there that could send warnings, but there was nothing he could do about it.
The mountain path was narrow and heavily guarded. Not even scouts could get through, let alone troops sent to attack it.
Learning that Nangong Shi was leading an invading army, the officers at the beacon tower climbed to the summit to observe the enemy and casually lit a beacon fire.
There was no denying that the beacon fires King Zhou had invented years ago proved tremendously useful in wartime.
Looking at the dark mass of troops below, the defending general said, "General Dou truly has uncanny foresight. The moment he saw Xiqi dispatch its troops, he knew they would attack Sishui Pass. Look, here they are."
Even with only a few soldiers beside him, however, the defending general had no fear of an attack by the Zhou Army.
The beacon tower was built against the mountain wall and had only one entrance. A large army could not attack it at all. The path