Chapter 157: Marriage Alliance

After a long talk, Xuanyuan already knew what he most wanted to know; the earth was far broader than he had imagined. It seemed there was still a long road ahead if he wanted to unify the human race.

Next was to hear the requests of Xiling. They certainly hadn't come to the Xuanyuan Tribe just for idle chatter.

Seeing that Xuanyuan was in a relatively good mood, Leizu attempted to propose the idea of Xiling settling down nearby. Of course, she was prepared to be rejected; after all, no tribe was willing to let others settle within or beside their own territory, as this was a hidden danger.

Hearing Leizu's words, Xuanyuan was still somewhat shocked, as this request was indeed a bit outrageous. However, he was secretly delighted; keeping Xiling in the Xuanyuan Tribe was fine, as he would have the opportunity to directly merge them into the Xuanyuan Tribe. Still, for the moment, he had to pretend to be displeased.

Seeing Xuanyuan's expression change, Leizu knew the matter was likely not going to succeed. "We came here based on the divination of our Shaman. Originally, it was said to head north, but we went in the wrong direction. After arriving here and divining again, it said we had reached the location guided by the gods.

Our tribe can no longer delay, so we can only believe that this divination result is correct."

Standing to the side, Fenghou's expression changed upon hearing of the divination. Divination was his strongest skill. As a descendant of the Fuxi Clan, he considered his divination techniques to be the best among the current human race, so he also knew that divination results would not suddenly change unless some accident had occurred along the way.

"Tribal Chief Leizu, I am Fenghou, a descendant of the Fuxi Clan, and I am skilled in divination. How about you let me perform a divination for your tribe?"

Xuanyuan did not mind Fenghou's interruption, and he also wanted to see what Fenghou's divination result would be. Furthermore, if the result was to stay here, it meant that Xiling would sooner or later become a part of the Xuanyuan Tribe. If they were not meant to come here, even if Xuanyuan forced them to stay, it might only lead to trouble.

Being able to have someone like Fenghou perform a divination for them was, of course, something Leizu could not ask for more, and she immediately indicated that she would pay with a piece of silk the size of a palm.

The Yarrow Divination used by Fenghou was different from Wangzuo's bluffing; Fenghou was truly capable. What Wangzuo had overheard back then was precisely Fenghou conversing with other Sages, and Wangzuo had even stolen Fenghou's Division.

Before long, the result was out: the Xuanyuan Tribe was indeed the final destination for Xiling. They were truly meant to come here. The two from Xiling believed this deeply, because they did not think anyone would use the names of the gods from Heaven to deceive others; if it was inaccurate, it was only because they had not fully understood the instructions of the gods.

Since the gods had guided them here, it was now up to the opinion of the Xuanyuan Tribe. Xuanyuan wore a troubled expression and finally said: "You can see for yourselves that our Xuanyuan Tribe is very large with many tribesmen, which means we also need a sufficiently large territory.

Your tribe is also large, so if you build your tribe within our territory, you will certainly snatch food from our tribesmen. Therefore, even if I agree, I fear our tribesmen will not be willing."

Leizu's hands were clenched tightly. If Xiling had not suffered a disaster, where would they need to look at the faces of other tribes? But if they just left like this, where would they go? Would there be a good outcome if they did not follow the instructions of the gods? Thus, she decided to listen to the demands of the Xuanyuan Tribe. If the price was something they could bear, they would accept it; if they could not bear it, then at worst, it would be war.

After pondering for a moment, Xuanyuan stated his conditions: "If you want to avoid opposition from our tribesmen, then join our Xuanyuan Tribe and become people of our Xuanyuan Tribe. I will allocate land to you, and if you have no food now, I can even provide you with food."

Leizu immediately slapped the table and stood up. Wasn't this just asking for their Xiling to disappear? Although the strength of their Xiling was less than one-tenth of what it once was, it did not mean they could be bullied at will. At worst, they would die in battle and have their tribe wiped out.

Seeing this scene, Boyu hurriedly pulled back the standing Leizu. This was someone else's territory; if they angered them, there was no telling what the consequences might be. Moreover, he had thought of a solution.

He whispered his idea into Leizu's ear. Leizu was first shocked, then calmed her emotions, and looked at Xuanyuan again, biting her lip while considering something.

Originally, upon seeing the angry Leizu, Xuanyuan thought there was no hope, but after this one-armed man told Leizu something, looking at it like this, it seemed there was still a chance?

As if she had made a great decision, Leizu let out a long breath: "How about we have our two tribes enter into a marriage alliance? Even if our Xiling has declined, our status is no lower than your Xuanyuan Tribe. After all, you are not Shennong, and we still have the Heavenly Worm.

We can raise the Heavenly Worms here, and we will also share a portion of the Silk with the Xuanyuan Clan, provided that Xiling remains Xiling. However, whether in war or labor, they will participate in the Xuanyuan Tribe. We only need the Xuanyuan Tribe to give us land and support for our reconstruction."

At this time, there was no such thing as love; marriage could be traded, especially between large tribes. Small tribes did not have so many formalities; those of the same tribe were more barbaric, knocking someone out with a club and dragging them away without considering the feelings of either side. Between different tribes, they could just trade with food and supplies.

However, Xuanyuan was also surprised by this proposal, but upon careful thought, there were no disadvantages. Moreover, Xiling and the Xuanyuan Tribe would almost eat and live together; after a long time, Xiling would also become the Xuanyuan Tribe. There was no reason not to agree to this.

Xuanyuan readily agreed to Leizu's conditions and indicated that he would inform Heaven of the matter between the two of them through a sacrifice. Xuanyuan already had several women, but Leizu would be the most important one.

In the past years, Xuanyuan had been observing the changes of the sun and moon, the difference in their positions, and the relationship with the cold and warmth of the weather. He had already initially discovered some patterns. He wanted to fix this summarized pattern in some way so that the tribesmen would know what to do on this day in the future.

Changxian went out to tell the tribesmen the result of the discussion. They were all whispering, but no one raised an objection because they felt this result was already very good; a marriage alliance was not a shameful thing.

Thus, Xuanyuan chose a piece of land for Xiling that was very close to Qingqiu Mountain, the kind that could be reached in half a day. Most importantly, it was very close to a water source, because Leizu had taken out the Wild Rice seeds to show Xuanyuan and said that they wanted to plant Wild Rice and mulberry trees here.

Xuanyuan, for his part, strongly supported them; a piece of land by a stream was very suitable for Xiling.

The next day, under the gaze of everyone, Leizu and Xuanyuan performed a sacrifice to Heaven together, indicating that they had become husband and wife, and Xiling officially took root in the Xuanyuan Tribe.

Cangjie drew the scene of Leizu and Xuanyuan discussing and the scene of the sacrifice to Heaven on the wall of the giant cave. Xuanyuan recorded this day on another stone wall with his own special marks. It was only later, after the calendar was established, that they calculated back and learned that this day was the sixth day of the sixth lunar month.