After they felt the change in the Longboat tribe’s fire seed, Shao Xuan told Duo Kang to start preparing.
They had already finished planning during the time they communicated with the Taihe tribe through their letters. Even though the map Wu He’s group drew wasn’t complete and didn’t look decent, they had labeled most of the regions and districts on the map. Even though this group worked together this time to steal the grains from the Flaming Horn tribe, they rarely worked together while they were on the other side and often went to different places. Some of them were more familiar with a specific location, so whenever one of them made a mistake, the others would correct him. After all, Shao Xuan had mentioned that if they made a mistake, they wouldn’t be able to receive any special treatment.
The Taihe tribe’s letter also had a map of some parts of the forest. The Taihe chief was not sure which route was safest, so they sent out a map they treasured and rarely took out. Zheng Luo’s group never knew about this map before.
The Taihe tribe’s ancestors often went on trips to search for medicinal herbs, and every trip took about a year, sometimes even longer. They drew a map for the places they went and passed this map down from each generation to the next, so the map was constantly being updated and perfected. That was why the Taihe tribe had such a detailed map. Even though this map was mainly used as a reference to search for medicinal herbs, it was still an important source of information. With this map, they could avoid all the unnecessary troubles and stay away from danger.
Shao Xuan compared the map that Wu He drew and the one from the Taihe tribe. Then, he considered the regional structures of this continent and the location of each tribe. After some discussions, he decided to take a different route.
On the other continent, there was a V-shaped bulge that was closer to this continent. This was the exact location Shao Xuan brought the others over from the other side. It was right under the V-shaped bulge. This was the closest point between the two continents. However, the slave masters’ army took over the area and stationed themselves along the coastlines. Getting there wasn’t easy, because the slave masters would not easily let any tribes cross the sea, not to mention a tribe that had such a strong connection with the Flaming Horn tribe.
The Taihe chief probably thought about this too, or else he wouldn’t have taken out such a precious map. If the Flaming Horns did not entrust the Chang Le’s to deliver the letter, they would never take such a risk because they did not trust the Chang Le’s at all. They only trusted the Flaming Horns.
So, their final decision was the sea route.
Shao Xuan already knew from back then that the Taihe tribe could walk deeper into the woods and see a wide river from where they lived. This river could take them out of the forest and possibly into the sea. However, that route was too far and none of the Flaming Horns had seen this before. They only heard about it from the other tribespeople who came from the other side. This map that the Taihe tribe sent them also had routes similar to this one.
This river indeed flowed towards the sea.
The Taihe chief wrote most of his thoughts and ideas in his response letter. He was indeed planning to travel beside the river but not on it. He didn’t want to get close to the river because there were too many crocodiles there. No one wished to provoke the scary fierce beasts, especially the terrifying giant crocodiles in the big river.
But then, what should they do after arriving at the sea? Make their own ships? Their crafting skills were no good, and even though they had a clear sense of direction in the forest, would they get lost on the sea? They didn’t even have the slightest confidence.
However, Shao Xuan’s plan was to send people over to take them across!
But where would they get the ships?
The Longboat tribe would definitely make the ships if the Flaming Horns asked them. They had intentions of exploring the sea since long ago. The Flaming Horns could tell just by observing their newly designed ships. They did not need such designs if they were only navigating the river. Before, they could not leave their tribe for too long because of the ancient fire seed, but now, they had greater ambitions. It could be said that besides the Hui tribe, the Longboat tribe was the only tribe amongst all the major tribes that looked forward to merging their fire seed the most!
This time, they could finally partner with the Longboat tribe. Before when the Longboat tribe was merging their fire seed, they had also sent people over to ask Shao Xuan about the specifics regarding the merge. Shao Xuan had also asked them about places they could enter rivers and the sea on this continent. The Longboat tribe had never been to this part where the Flaming Horns lived, so they weren’t sure, but they were familiar with the central region and the grassy plains. They knew enough about the geography there, but they never shared their information with anyone else. This time, they were here to ask about the fire seed, and only revealed what they knew because Shao Xuan asked them.
On the grassy plains, there was a river that extended from to the ends of the plains. There were many high mountains there. Even though there were fearsome beasts residing in the area, there weren’t as many compared to the Fearsome Beast Forest and the forest behind the Flaming Horn’s current living area. The soil there was not suitable for cultivation, and there weren’t any ancient forests there either, so there weren’t many different species living there. At most, there were only eagles. The eagles of the Tianshan tribe and the Hui tribe’s mountain eagles all resided in that area. The river in that region passed through the mountains and flowed towards the sea.
This was the Longboat tribe’s ancestor’s discovery. They knew even more about the grassy plains than the Hui tribe and Tianshan tribe even though they were the ones who were actually living there. To the Longboat tribe, rivers were like blood vessels that carried the blood. Ships were the blood. These were both very important to them.
Perhaps this route was a little longer than the one Shao Xuan’s group took before, but this was a much safer route. The only thing they had to worry about was when they reached the sea. However, even though the Taihe tribe was willing to risk travelling on sea, they did not wish to meet any slave masters on the way. After all, their entire tribe was migrating. They even had elders, children, and others who had not awakened their totemic powers. As long as they didn’t go to any place too far away from the shorelines, they could still survive. At least they wouldn’t all be killed.
“That’s it.” Shao Xuan was discussing with a few people in the house. He was also tagging along this time. At first he was planning to let Zheng Luo and Duo Kang bring some people over. The Taihe tribe was most familiar with them, after all, but Zheng Luo wanted Shao Xuan to go with Duo Kang. He wanted to guard the post at the Flaming River Trading Point.
It wasn’t because he didn’t want to go. Zheng Luo also missed his old friends, and he also hoped that they could come assist them here, but he also knew that the Longboat tribe mainly feared Shao Xuan. The Longboat tribe was not afraid of any other Flaming Horns. He would feel more relieved if Shao Xuan was there.
Shao Xuan and Duo Kang were about to leave for the Longboat tribe. This time, they were going along with the people from the Longboat tribe, navigating by ship on this river across the grassy plains. The Longboat tribe was very familiar with this route.
If they could travel as planned and enter the sea from this route, then they could avoid all the fights along the shorelines and immediately head for the continent on the other side, to where they promised to meet the Taihe tribe.
After he cut down the number of people who were coming on this trip, Shao Xuan packed all the gear he prepared previously and embarked the ship with Duo Kang. Together they set off to the Longboat tribe.
By the time this group of people returned, it would already be next year. They had to hurry and get to the sea before winter. This was the only way to avoid the frozen river.