The Wolf Tribe's Plight

While the Fire Tribe was active elsewhere, Tiger Tribe was discussing countermeasures, in the council hall of the former Great Boulder Tribe, the flame of an oil lamp flickered in the dim light, casting the shadows of Xueya and his companions on the stone wall, sometimes long, sometimes short, as if something unseen was moving back and forth behind the wall. A breeze blew in through the cracks in the door, carrying a chill and the damp scent of earth churning on the distant riverbank, causing the lamp flame to tilt slightly before bouncing back. The air in the room was somewhat stuffy, a mixture of the smells of wood, animal hides, and stale food; inhaling it felt like a thin layer hanging in the throat. Xueya and his companions sat around the long table, used countless times. The wooden tablets on the table were scattered haphazardly; some had been pushed to the corners, their edges bearing faint marks from repeated rubbing. One had slipped halfway off the edge, dangling in mid-air, and no one reached out to steady it. No one bothered to tidy them up.

Xueya sat in the main seat, wearing a dark black linen robe with the collar open, revealing a greyish-white undershirt. A wide leather belt cinched his waist, from which hung a short knife; the scabbard's edge was polished to a gleaming shine, and the hemp rope wrapped around the hilt was blackened by the sweat and grease of his hands. His hair was tied back with a leather cord, a few stray strands falling from his ears and landing near his cheekbones, swaying slightly with each turn of his head. The old scar on his left cheek, stretching from his brow bone to the corner of his mouth, was particularly striking in the lamplight, its edges a lighter shade than the surrounding skin, like a scar smoothed by time but never truly etched. The traces of what had vanished. His hands rested on the table, fingers interlaced, the pads of his fingers pressed against the knuckles of his other hand, as if using that gesture to steady his breathing. His gaze moved from Yexiao Owl's face to Duzhu Duzhu's face, then back to the scattered wooden tablets on the table, pausing for a moment before he spoke, his voice not loud, but carrying a deep, suppressed quality. "Our people have gradually returned from the Tiger Tribe. The Tiger Tribe is unwilling to send a large number of troops to support our Wolf Tribe, only some ships to monitor the Fire Tribe's fleet. However, the Tiger Tribe has agreed to sell us some ships."

As he spoke, he tapped his fingers lightly on the table, the knuckles making a soft click on the wood, as if putting a somewhat unsatisfactory end to the message. The corners of his mouth twitched down, and the lines of his jaw tightened, but he quickly relaxed, as if pressing some deeper emotion back into place.

Yexiao sat to his right, wearing a dark linen robe with the collar turned up, as if to block the wind from coming in. He was thinner than Xueya, and his posture was more relaxed, leaning back in his chair with his hands crossed in front of his abdomen. Occasionally, his fingers would lightly tap the knuckles of his other hand, as if using that gesture to find the right rhythm for what he was about to say. His brows were furrowed more deeply than usual, the vertical lines between them resembling the creases of paper that had been repeatedly folded. When he spoke, his voice was not loud, but each word seemed to have been slowly polished by his own lips before being uttered: "The Tiger Tribe probably doesn't want to confront the Fire Tribe head-on right now." "They just want to watch the Fire Tribe from afar. The Tiger Tribe's intention is for our Wolf Tribe to withstand the Fire Tribe's threat from the front. In this way, the Tiger Tribe is essentially abandoning our Wolf Tribe Wolf Tribe, leaving us to fend for ourselves." He paused, tapping his fingers in front of his abdomen, then continued, his voice carrying a calmness born of confirmation, "The Wolf Tribe Tiger Tribe sold us the ships only to have us hold them off for a while longer or monitor the Fire Tribe's movements. The longer we hold Wolf Tribe off, the better prepared the Tiger Tribe will be. Once we can't hold Wolf Tribe off any longer, it won't be too late for the Tiger Tribe to confront the Fire Tribe."

Duzhu sat to Xueya's left, dressed in a dark brown linen robe, the collar pulled tight and the cuffs tied with thin rope. Her hair was wrapped in a dark cloth, revealing a face weathered by the sun and sand. The lines of her cheekbones and jaw were sharply defined in the firelight, and her lips were chapped, as if she hadn't had a proper drink of water for days. Her hands rested on the table, her fingers slightly clenched, as if grasping something that hadn't yet settled. Her voice was lower than usual when she spoke, but the worry in her tone was like a tightly stretched thread, each word trembling with suppressed emotion: "When the Fire Tribe took all the people from the Greater Qing Tribe away, I thought the Fire Tribe was going to slowly abandon the Greater Qing Tribe camp, but I never expected..." "Upon arriving at the Fire Tribe, they immediately transferred all 30,000+ people from the Willow Vine Tribe to the Greater Qing Tribe." She paused, lightly pressing and releasing her finger on the table, her fingertip tracing a short distance along the wood grain. "It seems the Fire Tribe is preparing to use the Greater Qing Tribe as a forward outpost. They've pushed their tribal power forward, which is equivalent to pushing their defensive line forward as well. Now, the Fire Tribe has amassed a large force in the Greater Qing Tribe on our opposite bank. The Fire Tribe is also on the east bank of our Fish River, and the Bear Tribe, a little upstream, has also amassed forces. In this situation, our Wolf Tribe is in a very precarious position. They're attacking from both sides, and our Wolf Tribe doesn't even have much room to retreat. We also have to attack the Fire Tribe from two directions."

As she spoke, her gaze fell on the wooden tablet that had slid halfway off the edge of the table. Her eyes lingered there for a moment before she looked up at Xueya, as if waiting for him to finish his sentence, or as if she were telling him with her eyes that what she said was true.

Xueya nodded after listening. His gaze fell on the wooden tablet pushed to the corner of the table, still bearing the markings sent back by the scouts a few days ago: several arrows and circled areas. One circle had been traced repeatedly, as if he had deepened it as he looked at it. His voice was lower than before when he spoke, as if he had weighed his words carefully before letting them out: "Yes, the Fire Tribe is now powerful on the water and has many cavalry. If they really want to cause trouble for our Wolf Tribe, our Wolf Tribe is definitely no match for the Fire Tribe, and not only us..." "Even the Tiger Tribe Wolf Tribe, the old overlords of the Fish River, no longer dares to confront the Fire Tribe head-on; they've switched to a defensive posture." He paused, drawing a line on the table with his finger, from the direction of the Tiger Tribe to the location of the Wolf Tribe, and then further north from the end of that line. "The Fire Tribe and the Tiger Tribe will definitely have a major battle in the future. The Tiger Tribe Wolf Tribe would love for our Wolf Tribe to act as the vanguard to hold off the Fire Tribe Fire Tribe, depleting their strength and energy. The Fire Tribe will definitely try every means to eliminate our Wolf Tribe. We'd better make plans as soon as possible."

After listening, Yexiao sat up straighter, shifting his body forward from the back of his chair. His fingers paused in front of his abdomen, as if retracting the gesture. When he spoke, his voice carried a calculated certainty, each word delivered with firmness. "At worst, we'll lose the Great Boulder Tribe's territory and develop on the Long River! I heard the Tiger Tribe has been recruiting Long River recently. A lot of the Long River has become available there; there are more people and more land. If the Tiger Tribe can recruit there, so can we. They've been recruiting there for so long, which means there's definitely something to be gained there."

The Duzhu chimed in, her fingers pausing on the table as if weighing the suggestion in her palm. Then she spoke, her voice tinged with suppressed hesitation, her lips slightly pursed, as if carefully positioning her words before releasing them. "While that area is an ideal place for our Wolf Tribe to develop, we're not familiar with it. We don't know the routes, which tribes are there, which are easy to deal with, and which are not." She paused, her fingers tapping lightly on the table, the knuckles making a soft sound, as if finding a foothold for her next sentence, "And..." "We finally got this territory with great difficulty, it would be such a waste to give it up so easily. We lost a lot of people here to take over the Great Boulder Tribe's territory, and we've only been here a short time, and we're already leaving?" As she spoke, her gaze lingered on Xueya's face for a moment before moving to Yexiao's. "What about our 20,000 to 30,000 affiliated tribes? If we go to the Long River, will those tribes come with us? If they don't, we'll be short-handed; if they do, how will they get there, and how will they be settled? These are all problems. 20,000 to 30,000 people, plus their livestock and belongings, can't be transported by the boats we bought from the Tiger Tribe."

Xueya was silent for a moment, his gaze falling on the carvings on the wooden tablets on the table, as if he were mentally reviewing the information. His finger slowly traced a line on the table, from the direction of the Tiger Tribe to the Long River, then back to the Wolf Tribe's current location, and then back to the Long River again. The line left a faint mark on the table, like an invisible mark he had carved into the wood. Then he spoke, his voice low, but each word seemed to have been carefully crafted before being uttered. "The Tiger Tribe is definitely unreliable. Last time we ambushed and slaughtered the Bear Tribe, the Tiger Tribe was already unhappy. Although they didn't say anything on the surface because of their heavy losses, they definitely hold a grudge. However, the Tiger Tribe has never considered our Wolf Tribe as one of their own; our Wolf Tribe is a tribe they can sacrifice at will. You two are right, the Long River Tiger Tribe indeed a good place, but we are not familiar with the routes and forces there. We still have many things to deal with here, and rushing over here is not a good idea unless there is no other way."

He withdrew his hands from the table and placed them on his knees, his gaze lingering on Yexiao and Duzhu's faces for a moment before continuing, his voice more steady than before, as if he were laying out his carefully planned arrangements one by one. "I plan to purchase some more 20,000-jin and 10,000-jin carrying capacity ships from the Tiger Tribe. We only need convenient ships to transport people and supplies; there's no need to spend a lot of money on large ships with a carrying capacity of 50,000 jin to fight a naval battle with the Fire Tribe. No matter how many ships we have, we can't defeat the Fire Tribe's navy. Buying those large ships would be a waste of resources and would only allow the Tiger Tribe to raise prices. 20,000-jin and 10,000-jin carrying capacity ships are enough for our Wolf Tribe; they can transport people and supplies without any problems. We still need to send people to scout out the route to the Long River and the situation of the forces there. We'll make a decision after we have a clear understanding of the situation."

He turned to look at Duzhu, his voice steadying, his gaze lingering on her face for a moment. "Duzhu, you continue to manage the production and farming of those affiliated tribes. The land cannot be left barren, and the food cannot be cut off. Our people still need to eat, and the cattle and horses need fodder. Let those affiliated tribes plant as much as they can and harvest as much as they can. Don't worry about what they think, just make sure they hand over the grain. As for their future, don't tell them yet. Let them continue working. If they find out we're leaving, morale will collapse, and no one will farm the land. We'll discuss it after we decide when to leave."

He then turned to Yexiao, his voice equally steady. "We'll take turns monitoring the Fire Tribe's movements. We'll also send people to check on the Greater Qing Tribe and the Bear Tribe every day, to see if their ships have moved and if their people are heading towards our Wolf Tribe. We'll make our next decision when the time is right. Also, we need to take our stronghold seriously. If the Fire Tribe attacks, we'll have a way out. It's easy to defend and difficult to attack. I've already had Xueshou stockpile food there. Even if we can't hold out here, we can retreat to Stone Ridge Mountain and hold out for a while longer."

Both nodded simultaneously. Yexiao's fingers paused in front of his abdomen, as if confirming that the arrangements were finalized. Duzhu put away the wooden tablets in front of her, folded them neatly on the corner of the table, and then stood up, the chair making a short, sharp creaking sound behind her. She walked towards the door, her steps slow, but each step landing precisely on the seams of the stone floor, as if using that movement to steady herself. Yexiao also stood up, adjusted his collar, and went out. Xueya sat alone in the council chamber, listening to their footsteps... The sounds of people walking down the corridor gradually faded away, eventually being drowned out by the voices of those finishing work at the camp outside and the clanging of timber. He sat for a while, then stood up, walked to the door, and pushed open the heavy wooden door. The wind rushed in through the cracks, ruffling the hem of his robe and the stray hairs on his forehead. He stood in the doorway, his gaze fixed on the outline of the distant plains, a line that narrowed in the twilight, as if slowly closing in. He looked for a moment, then turned and went back inside, closing the door behind him. He then walked down the corridor toward the camp, his pace neither fast nor slow.