After Ji Fa and the others reorganized their defeated troops, they pitched camp without retreating very far.
After all, they had raised the banner of acting in Heaven's name to overthrow a benighted ruler. If they withdrew after a single defeat, the prestige they had painstakingly accumulated would surely suffer a devastating blow.
Ji Fa was also confident that once Jiang Ziya arrived with the main army, they would still have the strength to fight. Thus, he kept sending scouts to investigate the Shang Army's movements.
Before the scouts returned, Ji Gao came back.
This was another of the contingencies Ji Fa had prepared.
Ji Gao, Tai Ji, the infiltrators and palace attendants, ordinary civilians, the old woman who sold Heartless Vegetables, and the others had been imprisoned when Dou Rong completely sealed the pass. Earlier, only the civilians within the pass had been evacuated; these people had remained in prison.
After Nangong Shi occupied Sishui Pass, he had not released them either. He had merely supplied enough food to keep them fed, holding them there as a precaution.
Unexpectedly, they proved useful sooner than anticipated. King Zhou had actually released them without so much as questioning them, and Ji Gao brought back firsthand information after leaving Sishui Pass.
"Elder Brother, besides ordering the bodies collected and military merit tallied, King Zhou also seemed to be having the Imperial Guards and Royal Guards pack their belongings. It looks as though he intends to withdraw!"
"Withdraw?" Ji Fa's brows knitted tightly. "He wants to withdraw right after a great victory? King Zhou's prestige is soaring right now. By all rights, he should press onward in one mighty surge and attack our Xiqi. Why would he withdraw and leave the entire Western Expedition to Lu Xiong again? Could he be brewing another