The Homeward Journey Like an Arrow

After Yan led the fleet away from the Great Green River Mouth Outpost, they traveled upstream along the Fish River Great Green River Mouth, the ships carried the last batch of more than 10,000 people from the Willow Vine Tribe, along with their personal belongings, linen, copper pots, and miscellaneous items. The ships were heavily drafted, making them much heavier to row than when they were empty. The rowers took turns rowing, going upstream with the river wind. By the end of the day, the sailors' arms were sore, but no one complained. Everyone was focused on rowing because they all knew that once they reached the Fire Creek River Mouth, they could hand these people over to Jianya, and the ships would be lighter.

The fleet made brief stops at two outposts, the mouths of the Bear River and the Bean River, replenishing their supplies with water and essential fresh vegetables. At the mouth of the Bear River, Yingmu stood on the dock, carrying freshly picked wild vegetables, their leaves still glistening with dew. He handed the basket to Yan from the gangplank, calling out, "Boss, just picked these, have some for the journey!" Yan had the vegetables loaded onto the boat and had Daya make a note of it before the fleet continued its journey. At the mouth of the Bean River, they also stopped briefly, replenishing their supplies with two buckets of water and a few bundles of firewood before continuing their journey. At the outpost, Bailin and his men waved to the fleet from the dock, and Yan responded with a slight gesture of waving back.

Passing by the stronghold at the Valley River Mouth Outpost, Yan had a small boat docked and went to the council hall on the pier to ask his father a few questions. When he pushed open the council hall door, Jianshi Shi was sitting in the main seat, flipping through wooden tablets. Several tablets were spread out in front of him, one of which had a map of the Fish River drawn on it, and a bone ruler was placed next to it. Hearing the door open, Jian Jianshi looked up, saw that it was Yan, was taken aback at first, and then slowly relaxed. He put down the wooden tablets, tapped his fingers lightly on the table, and spoke in a low but clear voice, "Have you received all the people at the Great Green River Mouth?"

Yan sat down opposite him, the back of the chair making a slight scraping sound as he sat down. He placed the empty wooden tablet in his hand on the corner of the table, pressing his finger along the edge of the tablet before releasing it. "The last ten thousand-plus people are already on the boats, being transported to the Fire Creek River Mouth. Uncle Jianya's side is ready; once they arrive, they can be distributed to the main valley and the Fire Creek River Middle Outpost transport will be completed within two days." He paused, tapping his finger lightly on the table. "We only stopped at the Bear River and Bean River along the way to replenish some water and vegetables, without stopping for long. We only slowed down to ask a few questions, and everything is normal there."

After listening, Jianshi nodded, put down the wooden tablet in his hand, tapped his fingers lightly on the table, and then spoke, his voice lower and his pace slower than before. "Your mother sent someone to say that Qingsui hasn't given birth yet, but the midwife said it will be a few days after you return. You need to quickly send the people from the Willow Vine Tribe to the Fire Creek River Mouth, and then go directly back to the Valley River Mouth. Don't delay on the way. Once you reach the Fire Creek River Mouth, don't stay overnight; leave that day after you've unloaded the people."

Upon hearing this, Yan felt a slight jolt in his heart, as if a string had been stretched taut. His fingers tapped on the table for a moment, pressing against the wood grain before releasing. His voice held a mixture of urgency and nervousness, a sense of confirmation after receiving confirmation. "Okay, I'll take the person to the Fire Creek River Mouth, unload them, and leave immediately. I won't stay overnight there. I should be back in a little over a month." He paused, his fingers lightly tapping the table. "I'm reassured that Qingsui has her mother watching over her, but I still want to be back before the baby is born. If I can't make it back in time, I want to see the baby as soon as possible after birth."

Jianshi nodded and said, "Yes, you go and take care of things first. Your mother is keeping an eye on things here, so nothing will go wrong. Don't you trust your mother? She's had four children. With her by Qingsui's side, there's nothing more reliable." He paused, tapping his fingers lightly on the table. "Take it easy on the road. Don't sacrifice safety just because you're in a hurry. It doesn't matter how fast the fleet goes, as long as everyone gets there."

Yan stood up, the chair making a short, sharp creak behind him. He clasped his hands in a fist salute to his father, then turned and walked out of the council hall. He didn't linger long at the Valley River Mouth dock, quickly returning to the ship. He gave Daya and Gubang a few instructions, telling them to arrange the upcoming voyage and the distribution of supplies. Then he walked to the bow, waved to Chuantou dock, and shouted into the cabin, "Set sail!"

As the horn sounded, the fleet slowly departed from the Valley River Mouth dock, sailing upstream along the Fish River towards the Fire Creek River Mouth Outpost. The sails were filled in again, the white sails making a series of short, sharp flapping sounds as they unfurled in the wind. Yan stood at the Chuantou, his gaze fixed on the river ahead, his fingers resting on the edge of the gunwale. It felt as if a small drum was gently beating in his heart, or as if something was moving back and forth in his chest.

After more than a month of sailing, the fleet finally arrived at the Great Green River Mouth Outpost Fire Creek River Mouth Outpost stronghold dock that morning. From afar, Yan could see a large number of people standing on the dock. Jianya stood at the front, wearing a long, gray linen robe with dark stitching on the collar and cuffs. A hemp rope was tied around his waist, and he wore straw sandals. A few strands of white hair hung down from behind his ears, shimmering in the afternoon light. His hands were behind his back, his back ramrod straight, and his gaze swept over the sails of the ships that were docking one by one. Behind him stood some warriors and a group of tribesmen responsible for receiving them. Some held wooden tablets, some were tidying the ropes along the boardwalk, their fingers deftly moving through the knots, and some were peering at the Fire Creek. A row of small boats, small and shallow, were moored on the dock, their oars neatly resting on the gunwales.

The boat docked, the gangplanks were set up, and Yan stepped off. Jianya took two steps forward to greet him, stopping in front of him. He first looked Yan up and down, his gaze lingering on Yan's face. He noticed that the vertical line between Yan's eyebrows was deeper than when he left, but he didn't ask any further questions. He simply clasped his hands in a salute, the clinking of his palms making a short, crisp sound. "Yan'er, it's good that you've arrived. I'll have someone guide the people you brought to the camp to assemble and wait for them to be assigned for transport. I've already had houses prepared in the valley at Fire Creek River Middle Outpost. We'll open both sides simultaneously, and we can send everyone off within two days." As he spoke, he turned to the side and raised his hand to the soldiers behind him, his palm clapping in mid-air. The soldiers then led their men towards the dock, beginning to guide the people off the boat. Yan also had Daya and Gubang lead their men to assist. The two sides joined hands, forming several lines, and began working simultaneously along different gangplanks.

The crowd moved slowly along the boardwalk. Some carried bundles, some held children, and some helped the elderly. Jianya stood at the edge of the dock, watching people disembark in batches. Then he turned to Yan and said, "Yan'er, after receiving the more than 10,000 people from the Willow Vine Tribe, all the tribespeople who had previously joined our Fire Tribe have been settled. We've been busy for so long, but we've finally settled everyone down." He paused, tapping his fingers lightly on his side, as if marking a conclusion to that matter. "Go back and tell your elder brother not to worry. I can handle the rest."

Yan nodded, switching the empty wooden tablet from one hand to the other, pressing his fingers on the edge before releasing it. "Yes, but Father plans to have me recruit some qualified individuals from the Wolf Tribe Wolf Tribe's affiliated tribes to weaken their strength. Of course, these recruits will generally be people who have lived in dire straits, whose hands have never been stained with blood, and who are not relatives of the Wolf Tribe warriors. We will carefully screen them, so you can rest assured about the people sent." He paused, tapping his fingers lightly on his side, as if preparing a conclusion for his next words. "Most of the people in the Wolf Tribe's affiliated tribes were coerced into coming here, living like slaves. If we select them and give them a way to survive, they will be genuinely grateful. This way, we weaken the Wolf Tribe and strengthen ourselves—a win-win situation."

Jianya nodded after listening, his voice lower than before. "That's good. Relying on natural population growth is too slow for our tribe. A woman gives birth to one child a year, and it will take at least ten years for them to grow up and work. Absorbing outsiders will require some effort to settle them, but they can work immediately upon arrival, without waiting. I can settle quite a few more people here in a while; just send them to me when you have enough. The Fire Creek River Mouth Outpost and the main valley can accommodate them; we can handle another ten or twenty thousand." He paused, tapping his fingers lightly in front of him. "However, you must be careful when choosing people. Those with blood on their hands, those who have bullied others with the Wolf Tribe, cannot be accepted. Those people won't change their nature once they come to our tribe; they'll cause trouble sooner or later."

Upon hearing this, Yan's expression relaxed somewhat, a smile extending from his lips to the corners of his eyes. "Uncle Jianya, I'm relieved to hear that. When the time comes, the people I select from the Wolf Tribe will be sent to you first. You have strong resettlement capabilities, so I trust you with my skills." He paused, tapping his fingers lightly on his side. "I've also spoken with my father. He said the Wolf Tribe's affiliated tribes have ten to twenty thousand people, and about half of them are suitable for selection. The rest, whose hands are not clean, will have to do hard labor first. That remaining half, about seventeen to eighteen thousand people, will be sent over in batches, so the pressure on you won't be too great. When we're selecting people, we'll have the people from Shibang and Yingmu investigate first, figuring out the situation of each household, who has clean hands and who doesn't. We'll make our move once we have a clear picture."

Jianya nodded and chatted with Yan for a few more minutes about the arrangements for the resettlement of this group of people and the details of the allocation of supplies. He said that there were enough small boats here, enough to make several trips a day. Yan briefly explained the arrangements for returning to the Valley River Mouth and gave some instructions on the order of stopping at the outposts along the way and the resupply of supplies. Halfway through his speech, Jianya suddenly paused, as if he remembered something. His voice was lower than before, and his speech was slower. "Don't rush on your way back. I heard about what happened to Qingsui. If you can make it, then go. If you can't, don't worry. It's always like this for the first childbirth. With the midwife there, nothing will go wrong. Your mother is even more stable than the midwife."

Yan nodded after listening, but his fingers paused at his side, pressing against the fabric of his trousers before releasing them. He spoke in a low voice, but every word carried a sense of urgency. "I know, but I still want to get back. If I can't make it, I'll feel like something's missing."

Jianya didn't say anything more, but patted him on the shoulder. The pat wasn't heavy, but it was steady. His palm lingered on the fabric of his shoulder for a moment before he pulled it back.

After everything that needed to be said was said, everyone on the boat had disembarked and been divided into three groups by Jianya's men. They were heading towards the camp along three different dirt roads. Jianya planned to send them to the Fire Creek River Mouth Outpost and the main valley in batches for resettlement. The small boats were already lined up at the dock, with oars resting on the gunwales, waiting for the first group to board.

Seeing that things were about right, Yan clasped his hands in Jianya salute to Fang and said, "Uncle Jianya, I'll be going now. There are people waiting for me at the Valley River Mouth, and I need to get back."

Fang returned the greeting with Jianya and palm salute. "Be careful on the road. When you reach the Valley River Mouth, please give my regards to my elder brother, and also to Qingsui. Tell her not to be nervous; it's normal for a first birth. With a midwife there, nothing will go wrong." He paused, tapping his fingers lightly in front of him. "Your mother, Qingye, is watching over there, more attentive than anyone else. You can go back without worry."

Yan nodded to him, turned and walked onto the gangplank. He stood at Chuantou bow, waved to the dock, and then shouted into the cabin, "Let's go!"

As the horn sounded, the fleet slowly departed from the Fire Creek River Mouth Outpost and sailed downstream along the Fish River toward the Valley River Mouth Outpost. The sails billowed again in the afternoon sun, their white surfaces making a series of short, sharp flapping sounds as they unfurled in the wind. Jianya stood on the dock, watching the fleet gradually disappear into the distance.