Chapter 7 (1/2)

To be able to speak simply, means he could have simple conversations. Donford Wu first confirmed Walda Ming’s ident.i.ty. Walda Ming really was a widow. A few years ago, while her husband was transporting ores, he was bitten to death by a wild beast. At this time, two things might happen to the widow, if she didn’t bear a child, then she will be buried with her husband, but if she bore a child for that husband, then she can live on, and the person in charge of the village will decide whether she remarries or keeps on being a widow.

Determining Walda Ming’s situation, he started to ask about the situation of the village. Letting him know that the Xia dynasty wasn’t as undeveloped as he thought it was, but had a strict ranking system. The Xia dynasty’s Earth clan was the largest, they lived in the best environment in the middle. The leader of the Earth clan is called the “Emperor”, the four clans, Gold, Wood, Water, and Fire clan all serve under the Earth clan, they had the nature of va.s.sal states, and the leaders of the four clans were called “kings”.

Walda Ming hasn’t traveled far before, so she didn’t know the details of the central Earth clan and the other three clans. She only knew that all members of the Gold clan have the surname Ming, the Gold clan is split into six tribes, each tribe having an unequal amount of villages. All villages have different amount of people, some have more than a thousand, and some only have tens of people.

Every village has a shaman to lead and manage the village. The status of the shaman was like that of a village chief in modern times, but shamans must do much more then what a village chief has to do. While being similar to a village chief, they are also the security head and a barefoot doctor. The shaman has the last say in everything that happens in the village.

Shamans are also split into rankings, the shamans of a village are called shamans, while the shaman of the tribe also does the same thing as a shaman, but they are much more powerful than the shamans in the village, they are called Sages. And at last, there is the most powerful shaman, they are able to speak with the deities of the world, borrowing the power of deities, they are called Celestial Masters.

As long as there different levels in society, information can be transferred through each and every single level. That’s why even if Walda Ming doesn’t know the specific situation of the other clans, but she has heard stories of them. Her impression of the five clans was that the Earth clan was the most powerful, the Wood clan was rather peaceful, the Water clan the most mysterious, the Fire clan the most violent, and the Gold clan the weakest of all five, always being bullied.

When she was asked why the Gold clan was the weakest, Walda Ming’s reply was that she wasn’t sure and didn’t know.

Donford Wu was already satisfied that he could know this much, Walda Ming was but just a normal member of the Gold clan, and a women at that too, so she wouldn’t be too clear on the details of the outside world.

With his injuries becoming better, the amount of prey that Donford Wu hunted became more and more. Even though he hunted more and more, but he himself ate very little, most of it was sent to Walda Ming. His main goal was to trade more time for Walda Ming to teach him the language. The women of the village all had to go to the mines to send the men food, Walda Ming wasn’t an exception, but after she brought back so much meat, she turned into an exception.

The leisurely Donford Wu also tried to help restore Walda Ming’s house, but after trying, he gave up. At that day and age, they didn’t have nails, the house had a Mortise and Tenon structure, and he himself didn’t know much about construction.

The people of the village all knew the prey that Walda Ming brought back was given to her by him, that’s why they didn’t treat him with disgust, but rather when they see him, they slightly smile and nod at him. But without the permission of the shaman, no one was allowed to speak with him.

With his leg injury healed about seventy or eighty percent, and his proficiency in the language growing more and more as he spoke it, Donford Wu got more and more curious of the outside world. Trying his best to acquire more information, he tried going to the mines. Planning on building a relations.h.i.+p with the men, he found out the women was much nicer to him, the men treated him extremely coldly, almost to point of treating him as the enemy. Not understanding this, he went to Walda Ming to find out the reason, Walda Ming’s reply made him laugh out a stomach ache.

“They’re afraid you’ll seduce their wives.”

With Walda Ming’s answer, Donford Wu didn’t go back to village ever again.

“Did something happen to you recently?”

Donfrod Wu asked Walda Ming that was bringing food. Lately, Walda Ming always had a worried expression on her face.

“Nothing.”

Walda Ming shook her head.

“We’re friends, you don’t have to hide anything from me.”

Donford Wu stated, his p.r.o.nunciation was still a little off, but Walda Ming could still get the gist of it.

“Are you leaving?”

Walda Ming handed over a small pot over to Donford Wu.

“Leave where?”

Donford Wu received the small pot, using a small stick, he sent a piece of rabbit meat next to his mouth.

“Home.”

Walda Ming said.

Donford Wu was dumb struck, after a moment, he quickly took a bite of the meat.

“I don’t have a home.”

“Everyone has a home except for slaves.”

Walda Ming said in a suspicious tone.

“I’m not a slave, but it’s just that my home is very, very far away.”

Donford Wu said to her.

“How far?”

Walda Ming continued.

“So far that I will never be able to go back.”

Donford Wu placed down the meat, picking up his dagger, he touched it aimlessly.

“Do you have a wife?”

Walda Ming continued to ask about his background.

“I do.”

Donford Wu wasn’t stupid, he knew the goal behind asking this question.”

“Then are you willing to have another?”

Donford Wu froze, he forgot that right now was the Xia dynasty, a man could marry multiple women, so his lie was no use at all.

“I bore two children.”

Walda Ming said in a proud tone.

Donford Wu stifled a laugh, not directly answering the question, he didn’t know if this was the general thinking of the Xia dynasty, or was it just the thinking of the far away Gold clan. To women, being able to bare children was an extremely good quality to be proud of.