Chapter 498: Chapter 6 Changes in Tribal Customs
Gao Qing never expected that, compared to her hatred for Lu Changqing, Lin Yu’s hatred for her was even higher.
Actually, Lin Yun wasn’t particularly interested in women like Gao Qing; after all, his last name wasn’t Cao, and he had absolutely no interest in other men’s wives.
However, according to what Lin Yu said, Bajiao Village had the custom of "walking marriage," which meant that the women in the village weren’t married to anyone. Even if they had children, they weren’t considered wives.
See, that’s much safer, cough cough!
"This matter, we have to start from 180 years ago..."
Gao Qing told the story of how Bajiao Village betrayed the White Wind Tribe and joined the Black Wind Tribe. People from the Southern Border were straightforward; when talking about her mother’s past, she didn’t hide anything.
It was mainly because she didn’t think that what her mother did was shameful.
Gao Qing straightforwardly said, "Actually, my mother was an insider traitor sent by Black Wind Fort. She was a person from Black Wind Fort from the beginning, and never a traitor all along."
Lin Yun: "..."
The thought processes of the Southern Border People were completely different from the Central Plains. In Gao Qing’s eyes, her mother had always been loyal—originally a person sent by Black Wind Fort, and whatever actions she took in the end were justified.
Both were insider traitors, but Lin Yun couldn’t agree.
It wasn’t him who was sent by the Sword Sect, so let’s not count that. Whether it was the Green Lotus Sect or the Red Lotus Sect, or even his voluntary undercover work in the Grassland, none had absolute loyalty.
He probably couldn’t bring himself to harm those who trusted him, even as an insider traitor, in the end nobody got hurt, apart from Elder Green Lotus.
This first master of his was still missing now!
Gao Qing’s mother was loyal indeed, but because of this loyalty, she had harmed her own husband and son and brought disaster upon the entire village... That...
Definitely the role of a villain, right!
Indeed, all Minotaurs can go to hell!
However, that person who stole his horse, Xu Xifeng, was no good either, using living people to nurture spiders, was also a character whom everyone in the Central Plains despised.
And listening to Gao Qing speaking of those past events, Lu Changqing also couldn’t help but become furious.
The White Wind Tribe would intermarry with one another, and Lu Changqing’s wife was from Bajiao Village. At that time, she was just visiting her natal home when disaster struck. Among those who couldn’t bear the humiliation that night and chose to commit suicide was her.
This was also the main reason for the deep hatred between Qingfeng Stronghold and Bajiao Village.
"You’re talking nonsense!"
Lu Changqing pointed at Gao Qing, angrily saying, "Your mother was promiscuous, a slut, a woman available to all! Bullshit about restoring ancient customs, our ancestors’ walking marriages wasn’t anything like this!"
Before the two tribes were in deep strife, the walking marriages of the Black Wind Tribe weren’t in the form they are now.
Every walking marriage had a specific date, and men and women would call to each other with mountain songs, which was the first step in flirting. Next was the bonfire dance, which was the second encounter between men and women. At the bonfire dance, couples would pair up—if both sides took a liking to each other, the man would ask for the woman’s place of residence. Passionate Southern Border women wouldn’t be coy either; if they were satisfied, they would tell the other their address.
Of course, there would be those who couldn’t find a partner at the dance, both men and women. At that time, it was time to go knocking on bedroom doors at night.
Those who already had an arrangement would hang a noticeably marked ornament, usually a token exchanged between the man and woman as a pledge of affection, which counted as a completed pairing. On the other hand, those who hadn’t paired up but didn’t want to sleep alone could hang up a sprig of fragrant herbs. Single men who saw this could then knock on their door.
Of course, the girl’s consent was still necessary; if the man wasn’t satisfactory, he would be chased away.
If there were incidents where men forced themselves on women without hanging herbs as a signal or without the woman’s consent, the elders in the village would carry out severe punishments.
Once both parties were satisfied, for an extended period of time, the man could come over to share her bed only at night. Generally speaking, it would be a fixed arrangement for a man to share one woman’s bed and vice versa, and after a while when children were born, the fathers had an understanding of their own.
This marriage custom, under conditions of romance and passion, also preserved respect for women, reflecting the social status of women in the Southern Border.
The White Wind Tribe came to adopt the practice of monogamy because of the evolution of this custom.
A long time ago, the two tribes were united.
That was until the Black Wind Tribe changed leaders. The new leader felt the birth rate was too low, with many children not surviving due to the toxic miasma, so the customs were changed.
Men could bed hop at will, and women could be bedded freely. Still, the women had the final say in the household, because no one knew who the fathers of the children were, and people from villages who intermarried would collectively raise the newborns.
This greatly improved the birth and survival rates for infants in the Black Wind Tribe, but the White Wind Tribe couldn’t accept it. The rift between them grew, leading to friction and eventually evolving into the situation we see today.
Lin Yun, listening to Lu Changqing’s explanation, began to feel that the original intentions of the Black Wind Tribe weren’t all that problematic.
In the Southern Border, where harsh landscapes prevail, reproduction is an instinct. For survival, the suggestions put forth by the leader of the Black Wind Tribe proved effective for the tribe, which made them right.
Yet, seeing how things have developed to such an extent, it was shocking because it counteracted the original intention. The additional people raised equated to roughly the same number of casualties as those lost to internal conflicts.
The intricacies of love and hatred here could be turned into a fifty-two-episode TV drama; Lin Yun simply found it too complex.
He quietly sent a message to Lin Yu, "Why do you think people from the Southern Border would rather suffer in this small place than leave the mountains?"
Lin Yu couldn’t help but give Lin Yun a disdainful look and answered, "You don’t think our ancestors were vegetarians, do you?"
Lin Yun: "..."
I was hasty, indeed forgetting this point.
Mainly because previously, the Book Immortal said that originally the world was one family, with the Central Plains People, Grassland People, and even the Demon Tribe, all governed by The Emperor. It was only after the Great Emperor died that the world fragmented into pieces, but the Central Plains remained under the control of the Central Plains Human Race.
The Central Plains People possess such a vast, rich land brimming with spiritual energy. Their dominance is certainly not a matter of personal quality, but purely because they can fight for it.
It’s just that Lin Yun previously saw many places deserted and felt they could totally accommodate people from the Southern Border, which led him to ask what seemed a somewhat naive question.
Why don’t people from the Southern Border leave the mountains?
Actually, if they left one by one, like Xu Xifeng who sneaked into the Central Plains without being detected, that would work.
But...
If they swarmed out, the major Sects of the Central Plains would let them know what it means that this land has always belonged to us.
In the final analysis, it is because the Southern Border is too weak.
"We should follow the ancient practices, but we cannot stubbornly cling to the old ways. Lu Changqing, you must understand that change is the way to guide the future of the Southern Border."
Before seeing the person, one hears their voice; Lin Yun turned his head upon hearing a crisp voice, and saw a group of people in black robes, a group in white robes, and among them, a small figure dressed in half black and half white.
Good grief, it seems this world also distinguishes factions by color everywhere...
