His eldest son had just been shot to death, and only a few breaths later, his fifth son was stabbed before his eyes.
Two sons had died right in front of him in this way.
His third son had been killed outside the estate, while his seventh and eighth sons had died outside the hall, along with other nephews, cousins, and brothers.
The Sima Clan was all but wiped out.
Sima Fang collapsed to the ground again and stared blankly at the bodies of his two sons.
His trembling hands reached toward them, yet he did not dare touch them.
After a brief silence, he suddenly broke down, tears streaming down his face as he threw himself over their corpses.
“Heavens, what did I do wrong?
Why are you treating me like this?” “My sons, my sons!” His cries of grief, fury, and despair echoed through the Sima Clan estate.
Deng Ai naturally knew that this old man was Sima Yi’s father, the head of the Sima Clan, Sima Fang.
Seeing how wretched he looked, Deng Ai felt not the slightest sympathy.
He only gave a cold snort.
“Sima Fang, I have only killed a few of your so…
sons, and you are already this heartbroken.
Your son offered Cao Pi the plan to flood Yan Province, killing thousands upon thousands of common people.
What about them?” Sima Fang shuddered and suddenly raised his head.
He stared at the young, stammering general before him with hatred and shock.
Then his body jolted as a thought struck him.
“Y…
you…
could you be a Chu general?
Are you one of Liu Bei’s men?” Sima Fang shouted, pointing at Deng Ai with a trembling finger.
Deng Ai did not bother to hide it.
He lifted his chin and said, “That is right.
I am Deng…
Deng Ai, General Who Suppresses Bandits under the King of Chu.
I came here today under the order of my lord Xiao…
Xiao Grand Commandant to wipe out your Sima Clan and punish your son Si…
Sima Yi for presenting Cao Pi with the vicious scheme to flood Yan Province.” Sima Fang’s whole body shook, and in an instant he understood.
The truth was finally clear.
No wonder these people had dared to act so wildly and slaughter the Sima family.
So they were from the Chu Army, men under Liu Bei.
What shocked Sima Fang even more was that this Deng Ai had come under Xiao He’s orders to exterminate the Sima Clan.
The plan to dig into the Ji River had indeed come from Sima Yi.
But that matter had been extremely secret.
Other than Cao Pi, Sima Yi had told only him, and even Zhang Chunhua, who shared his bed, knew nothing about it.
How had Xiao He found out?
Could it be that Xiao He really was, as the rumors claimed, some immortal with heavenly sight who could foresee everything?
And Henei was deep within Wei territory, so how had this force from the Chu Army reached Wen County without meeting the slightest resistance?
At that moment, Sima Fang’s mind buzzed as question after question flashed through it.
Deng Ai had no interest in admiring his shock any longer.
He slowly raised his bloody spear and prepared to take his life.
With death right before him, Sima Fang finally came back to himself, and despair returned to his aged face.
“Sima Yi, Sima Yi, with the King of Chu having a vicious and terrifying schemer like Xiao He to aid him, how could the King of Wei ever defeat him?
Wei will surely fall to Liu Bei, and the Cao family will surely die to Xiao He’s poisonous schemes.
You chose a road of extermination for our Sima Clan…” With tears streaming down his face, Sima Fang cried out to the sky.
Deng Ai remained unmoved and thrust his bloody spear without hesitation.
The spear pierced straight through his chest.
Sima Fang’s cry stopped at once.
He staggered back half a step, then fell onto the corpses of his two sons.
Deng Ai swept his gaze around and saw that the sounds of killing were already fading.
The Sima Clan had probably been slaughtered almost completely.
He had said they would wipe out the whole family, but the Sima estate was enormous.
If anyone had hidden away, he had no time to search every inch and drag them out.
Besides, not every member of the clan would necessarily be here at this very moment.
Killing most of them was enough.
“Withdraw to Luoyang.
Before we leave, set a fire and burn the Sima family estate to the gr…
ground!” Deng Ai raised his bloody spear.
The eight hundred Chu cavalry moved quickly, lighting torches and hurling them into every part of the estate.
Before long, the huge manor was burning on all sides.
When Deng Ai led his eight hundred riders out, he turned back for one glance.
The entire Sima Clan estate had already become a sea of fire.
He gave a cold smile, cracked his whip, and rode off into the distance.
The eight hundred Chu horsemen carried away the merit of slaughtering the Sima Clan and vanished in moments into rolling clouds of dust.
Behind them, thick smoke billowed into the sky and could be seen clearly for dozens of miles.
At this time, on the road west of Wen County, a group of men was slowly traveling east toward the Sima estate.
Sima Yi rode at the front with one hand resting on his sword.
In the carriage behind him lay Cao Pi, who had been left unable to father children.
“Second Young Master, we are almost at my Sima home.
Why not stay there for the night and continue the journey tomorrow?” Sima Yi asked as he turned toward the carriage.
Cao Pi pushed himself up and stuck his head out to look east.
He had just started to nod when his eyes suddenly shifted and caught something strange.
“Look, Sima Yi.
That black smoke in the sky seems to be coming from your Sima estate.” Sima Yi turned to look and indeed saw dark smoke faintly spreading across the southeast.
Looking more carefully, he could just make out firelight flickering below it.
That smoke and fire were coming from the place where the Sima Clan estate stood.
Sima Yi gave a violent shiver, and an intense sense of danger surged up in his heart.
He immediately urged the horses forward and sped toward the Sima estate southeast of Wen County.
By the time the group arrived, night had already fallen.
The Sima estate had become a sea of fire, lighting the surrounding area for miles.
Outside the flames were the local troops of Wen County, who had just arrived and were trying to put out the blaze.
There were also a few surviving members of the Sima Clan, huddled together and weeping.
Sima Yi’s face changed in alarm.
He did not even bother with Cao Pi, but whipped his horse forward and rushed over.
In the firelight, he immediately recognized his sixth brother Sima Jin, who was holding his own three-year-old second son Sima Zhao, and both uncle and nephew were crying their eyes out.
“Sima Jin, what happened?
How did our Sima family end up like this?” Sima Yi jumped off his horse and stumbled forward.
“Second Brother, Second Brother!” When Sima Jin saw Sima Yi, it was like grasping a lifeline.
He stumbled toward him, threw himself into Sima Yi’s arms, and burst into loud sobs.