I stare up at the rice fields we just completed constructing. The Summit was a complete success. The five clans in the valley were now the Five Mountains alliance. Why Five mountains? It was Chief Lang's idea. He suggested Mountains to show that we are strong and mighty.

"A powerful name will bring us great fortune!" He had said.

Everyone else liked it too, so we went with that. After everyone had enjoyed the Venison burgers, I'd made for them. I assigned the five clans, each with specific responsibilities. With the eradication of the Razorbacks, the Bitter Fangs now had the strongest warriors. Bitter Fang would be the valley's policing force. There was only one way into the valley and the Bitter Fangs were now guarding it.

Even though the Razorback clan was technically no more. There was still some tension between the new Bamboo Haven clan and the other clans of the valley. To foster goodwill, I assigned them to the agricultural development for the alliance. Meaning they would grow and herd all the food for the alliance. With time, people would associate the good food and luxury they will enjoy with Bamboo Haven.

The Zhou clan will be responsible for trade and commerce since they have the most contact with the people outside the valley. But I was monitoring Huan Zhou. If he betrays the alliance, I'll cut him into pieces and cook him with fried rice.

The Shen and Heavenly Blossom clans each produced things to trade with the outside world. The Shen, before they were destroyed, had made some of the finest robes in the valley. Heavenly Blossom made fine wine that was unlike anything I'd ever tasted. Both clans were working together to stockpile products for us to sell.

I was going to spend time in each clan teaching them how to cook and make the most of the food that was available to them. I started with Bamboo Haven. Since they would supply the alliance with food. It also gave me an excuse to spend more time with Min.

I had promised to consider her proposal after the Summit and I was doing just that. During the cultivation of the rice fields, we spent a lot of time together. I'd gotten to know her well. She was a hard-working woman. Min loved sweets and playing a game similar to mahjong. She'd hated being married to Chu. He had been a brutish husband. Chu enjoyed starving her and reminding her of how inferior she was to him. He treated all his wives and concubines in this cruel manner. They all hated him, but Min brave little Min took the brunt of his abuse to protect the others.

Standing beside Min, now, as we observed the other women in the fields. I admired all that she had done and survived. She noticed me staring and blushed. "Is there something on my face?"

I shook my head. "No, just admiring your beauty."

She smiled shyly and looked away, her blush deepening. I rolled up the legs of my pants and helped the women plant the seedling into the wet fields. Min joined me and we spent the day working side by side.

When the sunset in the horizon Min and I called it a day and walked back to her home. I cooked us a dinner of fried rice and venison skewers. The fruits of our labor. After dinner, we sat in companionable silence, enjoying some green tea I brought from my house.

"Before the Summit, I promised to give marriage to you some serious thought," I reminded her.

Her ears perked up. She looked at me, her eyes shining with hope. "Have you?" She asked me.

I nodded my head. "Yes." I took her hand in mine. " The answer is yes."

She gripped my hand and beamed at me.

I smiled back. "I don't know the marriage customs of this world. What do we do now?"

She blushed. "Our clan had no marriage customs. The other clans do, and I'm sure the people outside the valley do." She gently pulled me to my feet and led me to her room. "The men in our clan would just pick a woman and then consummate the marriage. No ceremonies or pretty words." I felt bad for her. For all the women who never had a wedding day.

"You deserve a ceremony," I told her.

She smiled at me and caressed my face. "I'd rather have you."

I took her hand in mine. "Why can't you have both?"

She chuckled and pressed her lips to mine. Her lips were soft and warm. When she pulled back, I felt drunk and light-headed. She held my face in her hands. "Make me yours tonight and you can worry about a ceremony tomorrow."

I lacked the restraint to say no. I didn't want to say no either. I wasn't a prude. It didn't actually matter to me whether we had a ceremony. I just wanted her to know that I was different. She would mean something to me.

"Please make me yours." She pleaded.

I woke when the sunlight outside penetrated my eyelids. I was wondering why my shades weren't drawn. Then the events of last night came back to me and my eyes flew open. I looked down at a still sleeping Min. She was snoring softly. A dainty little sound that made her all the cuter.

I pulled on my pants and went to the well outback to draw water that I would heat for a bath for the two of us. The little crowd of women by the well stopped what they were doing to look at me. Their appreciation for my male form was evident and what was more clear was that I had just come from Min's house. The Giggling and snickering from the women actually made me blush. I hadn't blushed since I was sixteen.

"Good morning," I said with a little wave.

The giggling increased as the women returned my greeting. I waited for my turn to draw water from the well. The women kept glancing at me out of the corners of their eyes and some openly ogled me. The hungry looks many of them were giving me had me concerned. I got that polygamy was a way of life in this world and I couldn't say the thought of a harem appealed. But I was just one man. I didn't want half a village trying to get in my pants. I'd die for sure. There were worse ways to go, but I wasn't in a hurry to clock out.

When it was my turn, I quickly drew my water and returned to Min's house to heat the water for a bath. Min was already awake by the time I got the water to boil. She stood in the doorway to her room, her robe loosely covering her body.

"Good morning." I greeted her. "I just heated water for a bath."

She gave me a sultry smile and walked to me, wrapping her arms around my middle in a hug. She rested her head against my chest. My arms wrapped around her shoulders automatically and we just held each other for a few minutes. As mornings went by, this was a pretty good one. We took a hot bath together in a large wooden tub. It was big enough for the two of us since they had made it to accommodate Chu's expansive girth. The bastard was the only one allowed to bathe in it. He forced poor Min to use cold water and a cloth. The more I learned about their married life, the more I was glad I killed him.

It was at that moment, with the two of us relaxing in the hot water, that I realized it did not set the bar very high for me. I could easily be the husband of the year with minimal effort because of how crappy an individual Chu was. But I would not put in minimal effort. Min was going to have nothing but the best from me. Starting with a proper ceremony. As soon as we were done bathing, I made my excuses to leave, promising that I would return.

Never had I moved with such speed and purpose. For the first time in a long time, I looked through my mother's closet. I found a stunning white dress that I knew would fit Min. I returned to Min's village and met with her former sister's wives.

Three hours later, a shell-shocked Min walked out of her house wearing my mother's dress. I stood under a canopy of flowers the women had plucked from around the village. She joined me under the canopy where our hands were fastened with a red piece of cloth. We recited simple vows of love and fealty to one another. I kept the ceremony simple so the other women in the town could remember it and use it for their own weddings.

I hoped ours would be the first of many weddings to be held in this town. The ceremony had just ended when a Bitter Fang messenger came running up to us.

He knelt and bowed his head. "Master Ivory. You're needed at the entrance to the valley!"