Chapter 54 Blazing Fire_3

"Circle upriver or downriver." Tie Chi answered without a moment's hesitation, "Where else can we circle?"

"I've scouted ahead." The old Translator said in a deep voice, "The fire is huge, circling upriver means heading into the mountains!"

"Then we circle downriver."

"Downriver is marked for other chiefs' routes."

Tie Chi grunted, "Why didn't you just say, 'We can't circle,' and be done with it?"

The arsonists had a pre-agreed "marching route" that was not merely a route, but also a "plundering range."

Upriver was obviously easier to cross than downriver, which is why the arsonists had been somewhat self-serving in allocating the marching routes.

The arsonists allocated the upriver route to [Bao Wuer]—namely, their kin, the lineal descendants—;

And allocated the downriver marching route to [Ah Heita]—namely, those minor chiefs who were originally independent but forced or willingly attached to the Terdon Tribe—.