Chapter Summaries

Exploration Captain Zuwaro and Hunting Captain Mu Quan shared a meal, but their language barrier left them unsure whether they were allies or enemies. Zuwaro finally realized Mu Quan was asking where his people came from and answered that they came from the east.

• Zuwaro welcomed Mu Quan and Mu Lu with a spicy whale-meat and kelp soup, which warmed and delighted the Itelmen hunters.
• Mu Quan asked where Zuwaro's people came from and why they had come, while Zuwaro asked to meet their leader or priest, but neither captain understood the other's language.
• Zuwaro called on Xiong Da to interpret, but the Unangax hunter's words only confused Mu Quan and Mu Lu, who guessed the visitors might be the northern Tent Tribe.
• Mu Quan gestured about ancestral tombs to determine whether the visitors came from the northern Tent Tribe or the southern Island Tribe.
• Zuwaro figured out that Mu Quan was asking where they came from and declared that they came from the east, where the sun rose.

Exploration Captain Zuwaro and Hunting Captain Mu Quan mistook each other’s offerings for signs of friendship, exchanging deer blood, dried deer treasure, and weapons. Zuwaro received Mu Lu’s composite recurve bow and prepared gold and state letters to learn more about the local tribes.

• Mu Quan offered Zuwaro deer heart blood and dried deer treasure as gifts of goodwill, and Zuwaro drank the blood and ate the dried meat.
• Zuwaro shared the deer blood with his warriors, while Mu Quan and Mu Lu worried that he had consumed too much precious deer treasure.
• Zuwaro gave Mu Lu a longbow, bronze arrows, and a bronze axe, then hinted that he wanted Mu Lu’s composite recurve bow.
• Mu Lu gave Zuwaro the composite recurve bow as a return gift, believing the eastern Sea Tribe’s presents were valuable deer treasure.
• Zuwaro asked Chakapu Shijian to bring gold and the king’s state letters so he could test what the local tribes knew.

Exploration Captain Zuwaro tried to identify the northern tribes by showing Hunting Captain Mu Quan a state letter and gold, but the hunters did not recognize the writing or display the reaction he expected. After the two sides established some trust, Mu Quan grew wary when Zuwaro asked about nearby tribes and resources, and decided to hurry back to consult his tribe’s Grandmother.

• Mu Quan said he could not read Zuwaro’s shamanic runes and suggested that the Mountain Tribe’s Grandmother might recognize them.
• Zuwaro stored the state letter addressed to the King of Japan with three other sealed letters intended for powerful alliances farther south.
• Zuwaro gave Mu Quan and Mu Lu gold Sun Amulets, which they treated as protective charms rather than valuable trade goods.
• Zuwaro asked to visit the Mountain Tribe and learn about nearby tribes, reindeer, and edible plants, prompting Mu Quan to suspect the Sea Tribe might be preparing to attack.
• Mu Quan considered seeking an alliance against the Deer Tribe and resolved to return overnight to consult the Grandmother.

Exploration Captain Zuwaro prepared his coastal camp for winter and received a visit from twenty Mountain Tribe hunters traveling by dog sled. The Mountain Tribe invited the Sea Tribe leader to its winter camp, leaving Zuwaro to consider their unexpected kinship and goodwill.

• Zuwaro gave Mu Quan two bags of salt to deliver to the Mountain Tribe's old grandmother, then ordered the camp secured as snow began to fall.
• After four days, Mu Quan returned with twenty hunters, ten sleds, and forty dogs, surprising Zuwaro with their speed across the snow.
• Zuwaro and Mu Quan met outside the camp with their armed parties, and Mu Quan reacted with astonishment at the Sea Tribe's bronze armor.
• At Mu Quan's order, Wu Hai spoke Aleut mixed with the local language and explained that the tribes shared ancestors and had intermarried for generations.
• Wu Hai delivered the old grandmother's invitation for the Sea Tribe leader to visit the Mountain Tribe's winter camp in the northern mountains.

Exploration Captain Zuwaro traveled with a small party to meet the Mountain Tribe's Old Grandmother, leaving Musona behind as a hostage. As Musona prayed to her tribe's spirits, Chakapu Shijian recognized the name Tengri among her words.

• Zuwaro told Shijian to hold Musona as a hostage and prepare the Exploration Team to fight if he failed to return.
• Mu Quan and Musona greeted Zuwaro, and Musona privately hoped he would kill the Deer Tribe chief and become her future husband.
• Zuwaro took hunter Xiong Da and an armored Kingdom Warrior onto the Mountain Tribe's sled and headed north with Mu Quan.
• Musona remained with the Sea Tribe's warriors, fearing she would be sacrificed if the negotiations failed.
• Musona prayed to the Mountain Tribe's spiritual beings, and Chakapu Shijian heard her repeatedly invoke Tengri.

Exploration Captain Zuwaro traveled by dog sled with Hunting Captain Mu Quan toward the Hot Spring Mountain Tribe’s winter camp, where the tribe sought to impress the Sea Tribe and prepare for possible conflict. The Mountain Tribe welcomed Zuwaro at the camp as Mu Quan considered the tribe’s plans for alliance, hostage-taking, or war.

• Mu Quan drove the dog sleds at high speed across the snowy plain, leaving Zuwaro nauseated and unsteady.
• Mu Quan praised the Mountain Tribe’s dogs and hunters, describing their past pursuit of the Island Tribe and their strength on the snow.
• Mu Quan recalled the old grandmother’s plan to use the dog sled journey to demonstrate the tribe’s power and considered detaining Zuwaro if negotiations failed.
• Mu Quan reflected on how Kamchatka tribes used reindeer migrations and small elite raiding parties to survive and wage war across the snowy plains.
• Mu Quan led Zuwaro into the Mountain Tribe’s warm valley winter camp, where hunters had gathered to welcome him.

Exploration Captain Zuwaro visited the Mountain Tribe’s winter camp and learned about its reindeer, while seeking four-footed mounts mentioned in His Majesty’s Divine Revelation. He heard that horses existed far to the west, then arrived at camp to find the Mountain Tribe’s armed warriors waiting to welcome the Sea Tribe guests.

• Zuwaro saw the Mountain Tribe’s children riding reindeer and learned that the animals were hardy but unsuitable for carrying adult riders into battle.
• Mu Quan told Zuwaro that horses called “Muri” lived far to the west and described them as mounts used by distant horse-herding tribes.
• Zuwaro asked whether the Mountain Tribe had horses, but Mu Quan explained that reindeer and dogs were better suited to the snowfields and easier to keep alive.
• Mu Quan praised reindeer as the masters of the snowfields and described how quickly they could pull tents and carry people across the peninsula.
• The returning Mountain Tribe hunters found nearly two hundred armed tribesmen assembled at the camp entrance, where Mu Tu said Mu Lu Mountain Mother had ordered them to impress the Sea Tribe guests.

Exploration Captain Zuwaro toured the Mountain Tribe’s winter camp and met its leader, Old Grandmother Mu Lu Mountain Mother. She welcomed him as kin but demanded to know why the Sea Tribe had brought warriors into Mountain Tribe territory.

• Hunting Captain Mu Quan showed Zuwaro the Mountain Tribe’s fighters and led him through their well-stocked winter camp.
• Zuwaro observed the tribe’s hide tents, food stores, and organized people, assessing their strength and resources.
• Mu Quan escorted Zuwaro to the shaman’s great tent, where Old Grandmother Mu Lu Mountain Mother was waiting.
• Mu Lu invoked the tribes’ claimed kinship and the God Mountain’s role in bringing them together.
• Mu Lu asked Zuwaro to explain the Sea Tribe’s purpose for arriving with warriors in Mountain Tribe territory.

Exploration Captain Zuwaro told Mu Lu Mountain Mother that his voyage and mission came from the prophecies of a powerful eastern shaman. After drugging him with Deer Fetus Blood Wine and questioning him, she learned of the Lake Kingdom’s immense strength and resolved to change her plans.

• Zuwaro swore that his fleet had sailed west under the guidance of His Majesty the Sage of Divine Revelation and asked Mu Lu Mountain Mother for horses and other supplies.
• Mu Lu Mountain Mother gave Zuwaro Deer Fetus Blood Wine, and he drank the entire waterskin before falling into a daze.
• While Zuwaro was intoxicated, Mu Lu Mountain Mother questioned him about the prophecies, the Lake Kingdom, and the tribes across the Eastern Sea.
• Zuwaro revealed that the Lake Kingdom had two million people and hundreds of thousands of warriors, leaving Mu Lu Mountain Mother shocked by its power.
• Mu Lu Mountain Mother ordered the hunters to put Zuwaro and Mu Quan to bed, inspect a Sea Tribe warrior’s weapons and armor, and keep close watch on Zuwaro.

Mu Lu Mountain Mother questioned Zuwaro about the Sea Tribe’s intentions and demanded he choose between being an enemy or ally of the Mountain Tribe. Zuwaro declared the Sea Tribe would be an ally, and the possessed shaman demanded a blood oath witnessed by the ancestors.

• Zuwaro woke refreshed after drinking the sacred Deer Fetus Blood Wine and learned that Mu Lu Mountain Mother wanted to see him.
• Mu Lu Mountain Mother explained that the Mountain Tribe’s reindeer territory and winter forests could support only a limited number of tribespeople.
• Zuwaro explained that the Sea Tribe could rely on fishing, farming, outside supplies, and Fire Stone rather than competing for Mountain Tribe pastures and fuel.
• Mu Lu Mountain Mother entered a spirit descent, and the ancestral spirit asked whether the Sea Tribe would fight the Mountain Tribe or stand with it against the Deer Tribe.
• Zuwaro declared the Sea Tribe an ally, and the ancestral spirit demanded that he swear a blood oath immediately.

Mu Lu Mountain Mother bound the Mountain Tribe and Sea Tribe in a blood alliance and arranged Zuwaro’s marriage to Musona. She then persuaded Zuwaro to join a surprise attack on the Deer Moss River Tribe, leaving the wedding set to serve as cover for the expedition.

• Mu Lu Mountain Mother performed the ancestral possession ritual, and Zuwaro and Mu Quan swore a blood oath allying the Sea Tribe with the Mountain Tribe.
• After the ritual, Mu Lu Mountain Mother told Zuwaro to bring Musona to the winter camp for a wedding in half a month, with both tribes’ people invited.
• Mu Lu Mountain Mother offered the Sea Tribe shelter and resources in exchange for helping the Mountain Tribe attack the Deer Tribe, and she learned Zuwaro’s people faced a severe food shortage.
• Mu Lu Mountain Mother proposed conquering the Deer Moss River Tribe for its reindeer, people, and territory, and Zuwaro asked about its strength.
• Mu Lu Mountain Mother planned to gather three hundred fighters under the pretext of Zuwaro’s wedding and launch a surprise raid on the Deer Moss River Tribe that day.

The Zheyang Ship’s crew made a profitable voyage through the northern seas, trading for valuable furs and placer gold among the Deer Tribe. As the crew celebrated their gains, twenty Chukchi Tent Tribe hunters caught up with them and launched a sudden attack.

• Kim Seon-su prayed on the frozen ship as he recalled the dangers of the voyage and the crewman taken by the Snowfield Deer Barbarians.
• Murakami Suemichi and Watanabe Masumi continued north after trading for a Jurchen horse and two Yakut snow horses, exchanging goods for furs along the coast.
• The crew reached Kamchatka, where they traded rice wine and salt with Deer Tribe groups for exceptional furs and about forty taels of placer gold.
• Murakami Suemichi and Watanabe Masumi praised the lucrative trade and planned to report their success after returning to Katsuyama Castle.
• Twenty Chukchi Tent Tribe hunters caught up with the anchored Zheyang Ship and attacked its unprepared crew with dogs, sleds, and arrows.

As the Zheyang Ship wintered in northern Kamchatka, Watanabe Masumi recalled the devastating Tent Tribe ambush that had cost the fleet many men. He comforted Shipwright Kim Seon-su and led him ashore to share venison porridge, insisting the survivors had to rely on one another as well as Guanyin.

• Watanabe Masumi reviewed the ship’s winter preparations with Shipwright Kim and worried about the powerful tribes nearby.
• Watanabe Masumi remembered how Tent Tribe hunters had ambushed the crew, killing five Kakizaki Clan warriors and four Joseon sailors while wounding the survivors.
• Watanabe Masumi recognized Shipwright Kim’s wooden tablet of White-Robed Guanyin and prayed for the dead crewmen.
• Watanabe Masumi gave Shipwright Kim his prayer beads and told him the fleet had to rely on itself to endure the winter.
• Watanabe Masumi invited Shipwright Kim ashore to share venison porridge, and Shipwright Kim followed with the prayer beads and Guanyin tablet.

Watanabe Masumi and Murakami Suemichi shared venison by their campfire and discussed Buddhist rules, Watanabe’s plans to leave the temple, and his family. Watanabe revealed that his family name was Ryuzoji before leaving to check on Sukeichiro.

• Watanabe Masumi joked that his esoteric Buddhist beliefs allowed him to eat venison, while Murakami Suemichi questioned his irreverent views of Buddhist monks.
• Watanabe told Murakami that he planned to return to secular life, marry, and have children after bringing their goods back to Kyoto.
• Watanabe revealed that he already had a daughter in Hizen and a younger blood brother, but hesitated when Murakami asked about his former name.
• Watanabe admitted that his family name was Ryuzoji and that he came from a fallen warrior house.
• Watanabe left Murakami to boil the rice and went to check on Sukeichiro.

Watanabe Masumi offered Sukeichiro a lucrative job raising northern horses, but Sukeichiro refused because he wanted to support his family and earn his brother a samurai marriage. Watanabe accepted his decision and invited him to eat venison porridge.

• Sukeichiro described the Jurchen Horse’s enormous appetite and the care required to raise the northern horses to Watanabe Masumi.
• Watanabe learned that Sukeichiro had spent sixteen years raising horses and that Wagoku villagers struggled with poverty and heavy taxes.
• Watanabe offered Sukeichiro forty koku of stipend rice to work for the temple lords, with Morino Kiyoshi promising to handle Lord Nobuhiro.
• Sukeichiro refused the offer because he needed to remain home, support his mother and brothers, and help arrange a samurai-family marriage for Saburo.
• Watanabe accepted Sukeichiro’s choice and invited him to share Murakami Suemichi’s venison porridge.

During a meal of venison porridge, Watanabe Masumi asked Murakami Suemichi and Sukeichiro what ordinary people in Mutsu and Ezo Land grew and ate. Their explanations revealed the region’s reliance on hardy grains and other crops, and the chapter ended with Murakami describing beans grown for food and crop rotation.

• Watanabe Masumi and the others eagerly ate venison porridge made with prized rice from Etsu Province.
• Murakami Suemichi explained that rice was scarce in Mutsu, so ordinary warriors and villagers mostly ate barley, highland barley, and foxtail millet.
• Murakami described foxtail millet as a hardy, easily stored staple, while Sukeichiro explained that barnyard grass grew in poor salty soil and taro thrived near water in warmer regions.
• Murakami added that villagers grew other crops, including soybeans and peas, and planted beans in rotation to maintain the soil.

Murakami Suemichi and Sukeichiro described how daikon, acorns, and poisonous false chestnuts helped Wagoku’s villagers survive famine. Watanabe Masumi was shaken by the farmers’ hardship and asked Shipwright Kim how Joseon’s villagers lived.

• Murakami Suemichi told Watanabe Masumi that daikon was a vital famine food, while Watanabe recalled Sakurajima’s pickled radishes.
• Sukeichiro explained how villagers gathered and processed acorns for food, and Murakami Suemichi gave the remaining venison to Shipwright Kim.
• Sukeichiro described soaking and boiling poisonous false chestnuts so villagers could eat them despite the pain they caused.
• Watanabe Masumi reflected on how little he had understood farmers’ suffering and asked Shipwright Kim what Joseon’s villagers planted and ate.

Shipwright Kim Seon-su recalled Joseon’s relative prosperity and described the enormous Ming treasure ship he had seen as a young man. His story left Murakami Suemichi, Sukeichiro, and Watanabe Masumi marveling at Ming’s power and at Joseon’s reliance on its protection.

• Shipwright Kim Seon-su explained that Joseon villagers in Gyeongsang-do cultivated irrigated rice fields and could eat rice several times a month.
• Murakami Suemichi and Sukeichiro reacted with disbelief, while Watanabe Masumi contrasted Joseon’s hereditary military households with Wagokuu warrior houses.
• Watanabe Masumi asked what Joseon would do if Mongol invaders attacked, and Shipwright Kim Seon-su recalled Ming enfeoffment ships that had visited Joseon more than twenty years earlier.
• Shipwright Kim Seon-su described the treasure ship as a massive nine-masted vessel and recalled Joseon officials carefully serving Ming envoys.
• Shipwright Kim Seon-su concluded that Ming’s heavenly troops would help Joseon repel Mongol invaders because Ming possessed such enormous ships.

Watanabe Masumi explained to Murakami Suemichi and Sukeichiro how Ming sea lords operated and why they were far more powerful than Japanese raiders. He reassured them that the sea lords came to Kyushu to recruit impoverished ronin, then compared Ming people to whales, Joseon people to clams, and the people of Wagoku to crabs.

• Watanabe Masumi described the Ming Dynasty’s military strength and how its sea lords used foreign flags to evade the sea ban and conduct trade and raids.
• He explained that boat-dwelling Outcasts supplied skilled sailors and that powerful Ming daimyo secretly supported sea lords for profit.
• Murakami Suemichi worried that Ming sea lords might plunder Kyushu, while Sukeichiro and Murakami insisted they would fight for food.
• Watanabe Masumi laughed off the fear of a raid and said Ming sea lords landed in southern Kyushu to recruit masterless ronin with the promise of regular white rice.
• Watanabe Masumi compared Ming people to whales, Joseon people to clams, and Wagoku people to stubborn crabs that might still prey on clams.

Watanabe Masumi and the stranded Japanese warriors discussed Joseon’s weak land defenses, rigid outcast system, valuable craftsmen, and vulnerable coast, while weighing the rewards and risks of plunder. As winter deepened, they set aside their ambitions and prepared to trade with nearby Deer tribes for food.

• Watanabe Masumi explained why smaller Japanese warrior houses could raid Joseon while avoiding direct conflict with Great Ming.
• Shipwright Kim Seon-su described Joseon’s large outcast population and its hereditary social divisions to the surprised warriors.
• Watanabe and the others discussed Joseon’s weak land forces, stronger navy, and prized craftsmen whose skills could enrich Wagoku.
• Watanabe suppressed his greed and ended the conversation as snow continued to fall.
• Murakami Suemichi agreed to send three mounted samurai with wine and iron pots to trade for food with nearby Deer tribes.