TFBAT – Chapter 10

This scent smelled like herbivore beastmen.

Unlike carnivorous beastmen who strove for greater strength, herbivore beastmen were more inclined to use wisdom and physical power to improve their quality of life.

Hu Jin had only just reached adulthood and this was the first time he had ever left the tiger clan’s territory. But he had heard from the clan leader about the habits of herbivore beastmen.

Unlike the combative and solitary tigers, most herbivore beastmen were gentle, kind, and fond of living in groups.

They ate meat too, but their main food source was plants.

Just like how Chi Yuyang ate fruits—something he himself had never tried.

To him, his wife seemed more like a herbivore beastman, especially in personality. Among the tiger clan, he had never seen such a gentle and considerate female.

It was very likely this was her tribe… but what if she returned to her people and refused to leave with him again?

At this moment, Hu Jin’s heart was torn with conflict.

Although Tuantuan had paused when she asked him to stop, before Chi Yuyang could get down, the white tiger suddenly turned around and started running the other way.

“Wait, Tuantuan, where are you going?” Chi Yuyang saw the vast fields and thought humans must live here, but Tuantuan was carrying her in the opposite direction.

“Is that a tiger beastman and his mate?”

“Don’t look, don’t look. I heard the tiger clan is in total chaos right now…”

…

Tuantuan and Chi Yuyang, sprinting away, never heard this conversation.

Tuantuan set off again, running even faster than before, making Chi Yuyang feel as though it was fleeing in a panic.

She didn’t know how much time had passed when Tuantuan finally led her into a secluded forest.

Compared to the place where the cave had been, this forest was clearly different—there were far fewer varieties of plants here.

Suddenly, an oddly-shaped house appeared abruptly amidst the greenery, and Tuantuan finally stopped.

“Tuantuan, you…” She hadn’t finished speaking when her gaze was drawn to the half-domed stone house before her. “What is this place?”

This is the house my father once lived in, Hu Jin answered silently in his heart.

No other tiger knew about this place but him.

Before he transformed back into human form, he planned to hide his wife here, where only he could see her.

Thinking this, Hu Jin suppressed his little thoughts and brushed Chi Yuyang’s hand with his tail.

“Awoo!”

Compared to the matter of discovering traces of humans earlier, Chi Yuyang was far more delighted by this refuge Tuantuan had found.

A cave could shelter them from wind and rain, yes, but it was never a real house.

“Tuantuan, you’re amazing!” Unable to resist, Chi Yuyang hugged Tuantuan’s head and kissed it. “Does anyone else live here?”

With that, she walked quickly inside.

The place was empty.

In one corner, she found only a few bundles of dried straw, nothing else. Clearly, no one had lived here for a long time.

“Tuantuan, how did you even find this place? This is incredible!” Chi Yuyang set her belongings down and circled around the house.

Seeing that his wife wasn’t blaming him, Hu Jin’s tangled feelings instantly melted away.

“Awoo!” Wife!

Now that no other tigers would disturb them, he planned to resume what he had tried before.

Chi Yuyang turned her head only to find herself once again enclosed in Tuantuan’s embrace.

These past two days, Tuantuan’s enthusiasm had left her somewhat at a loss, but now that it had even found her a new place to live, her mood was soaring.

Tuantuan would never harm her, so what was she overthinking for?

Looking at Tuantuan’s “praise me” expression, Chi Yuyang couldn’t help but laugh.

The white tiger’s tail swayed back and forth behind it, and as it leapt playfully toward her, Chi Yuyang caught its fluffy head in her hands.

For a feline, it was awfully clingy—more like a dog.

Her dream life had always been to settle somewhere far from people, ideally with a white cat by her side.

As she stroked its soft, delicate fur, she sighed. “Tuantuan, you’re perfect in every way, it’s just… you’re a little too big.”

She missed the days when Tuantuan had been a tiny cub.

“Awoo?” Too big?

At her words, the eager white tiger suddenly froze.

So his wife really did care about his size…

Hu Jin glanced down at the female in his arms, her head buried against his chest fur, slender collarbone showing.

The neck was the weak point tigers always went for when hunting prey, and from his perspective, her fragility lay bare before him.

As long as she was his mate, there would be countless chances to mate in the future—but he didn’t want their first time to leave her with a bad impression.

The heterochromatic light in his tiger eyes flickered, and after a few seconds of reluctance, he pulled away from her.

“Awoo…” A sound tinged with inexplicable loneliness.

—

By dawn the next day, Chi Yuyang woke to the sound of heavy rain pouring outside.

The stone house clearly kept the rain out far better than that drafty cave.

So, the problem of shelter was solved.

With nothing to do, Chi Yuyang’s mind began to wander.

She didn’t fully understand her current circumstances, but at least this world definitely had humans.

The only problem was that from the start, because of Tuantuan, she had stood on the opposite side of those humans.

“Awoo.”

At that moment, the white tiger entered from outside, carrying in its mouth a still-bleeding animal.

Before dawn it had already gone hunting, just so that when Chi Yuyang woke she’d have food to eat.

Looking at the rain-drenched Tuantuan, Chi Yuyang didn’t feel the least bit of regret.

Luckily, her period had ended today, so she planned to go out with Tuantuan to search for food.

Recalling that field they’d passed yesterday, she vaguely felt that her longed-for rice might finally be within reach.

“Tuantuan, once the rain stops, let’s go take a look outside…”

“Awoo!”

But unexpectedly, the rain did not stop. It kept pouring, growing heavier and heavier.

She turned on her phone again. Judging by the time difference, it should already be afternoon, but the storm showed no signs of letting up.

Curling up against Tuantuan’s soft belly, Chi Yuyang counted the pieces of cat food left in the bag.

Her phone still had no signal.

And a few minutes ago, its last sliver of battery had finally drained away.

As if to declare that her one tenuous connection to that other world was completely severed.

It seemed she really wasn’t going back.

Looking back on her first twenty years of life, Chi Yuyang sighed faintly. “I really regret not falling in love sooner…”

What a cruel twist of fate. The closest thing to a man at her side now… was a male tiger.

“Tuantuan, if only you were human…”

But she didn’t really think it was bad that Tuantuan was a tiger. Strong in battle, able to understand her words, and honestly, not everyone got the chance to keep a tiger as a pet.

Although right now, it felt more like Tuantuan was the one raising her.

Outside, the rain pounded harder and harder, thunder crashing so loud it rattled the stone house. It reminded her of that very day she’d been thrust into this strange world—her first encounter with Tuantuan.

That day, she had found him injured.

Rumble… rumble…

Suddenly, several bolts of lightning struck down, and Chi Yuyang’s eyes were seared by a blinding flash of light. Instinctively, she squeezed them shut.

Because she feared there might be more lightning strikes, Chi Yuyang kept her eyes tightly shut.

In that instant, she felt as if the entire world had fallen into utter silence.

Even the sounds coming from behind her disappeared.

“Tuantuan?” Chi Yuyang felt a trace of fear in her heart and instinctively called out the white tiger’s name.

But she didn’t hear the usual “Awoo” in response, so she tried to turn her head to look.

Just then, without any warning, Chi Yuyang was firmly embraced from behind by a “person” and pulled into a warm, tender, and lingering embrace.

“My wife, I’m here.”