TFBAT – Chapter 16

Ten minutes later, inside the stone house.

“You’re such a big tiger, yet you still managed to run into rocks while going into the water.” While disinfecting Hu Jin’s wound, Chi Yuyang pinched his ears that twitched slightly in the breeze. “Next time, remember to watch where you’re going.”

Earlier, before she even had time to react to those glowing eyes drawing closer, she heard a heavy splash—the sound of something large falling into the water.

“Hu Jin, if possible, you’d better bathe during the day.”

She instinctively assumed he had also wanted to bathe, since he wouldn’t turn into his beast form for no reason. “With all that fur, it takes a long time to dry.”

“Awuu.” The white tiger let out a low sound.

In truth, it was because when he saw…

An uncontrollable heat surged through him, and he dove headfirst into the water.

Fortunately, he was in his beast form now, so Chi Yuyang couldn’t clearly see the expression on his face.

By the time Hu Jin’s fur was completely dry, the scratch on his body had already vanished.

“Hu Jin, your recovery ability is really something.” Chi Yuyang touched his foreleg, which bore only traces of the brown disinfectant liquid.

Based on Hu Jin’s performance today, Chi Yuyang had to admit that beastmen were even more extraordinary than she had imagined.

“It doesn’t hurt anymore, right?” she double-checked with him.

Seeing the white tiger nod, Chi Yuyang hesitated for a moment, then fetched her cloth bag, folded it, and placed it as a pillow.

Hu Jin’s injury happened to be right where she usually rested her head these past few days.

Even though there was no obvious wound, she didn’t dare be careless.

“Then let’s sleep.” Chi Yuyang patted the white tiger’s head.

Hu Jin stared at the makeshift pillow for a few seconds.

He secretly flexed his claws, then forced himself to look away as if nothing had happened.

—

The next morning, Chi Yuyang woke up, habitually rolled over, and touched her cloth bag, suddenly remembering she had used it as a pillow last night.

But somehow… it felt no different from the previous nights.

Was it just her imagination?

At that moment, she felt a ticklish sensation near her ear.

“Wife, morning.”

Opening her eyes, Chi Yuyang found Hu Jin’s nose tip brushing against her. She quickly covered her mouth with her hand.

Hu Jin’s turquoise-blue eyes flashed with confusion, but he didn’t stop.

He studied her closely, then gently ran a finger across her cheek, brushing away something clinging there.

“Wife, there’s my fur on your face.”

“…” Chi Yuyang froze for a moment, then realized what he meant.

What nonsense had she been imagining?

It was all Hu Jin’s fur’s fault!

…

After making bamboo-tube rice yesterday, there was still quite a lot of bamboo left.

After breakfast, Chi Yuyang looked at the pile of bamboo stacked like a little mountain inside the house.

Living in this world came with many inconveniences.

Although lotus leaves could hold water, they could only contain a little at a time.

The mineral water bottles she had brought were even smaller—convenient to carry on trips, but not of much use inside the stone house.

So, she asked Hu Jin to cut some of the leftover bamboo into tubes.

“Wife, what about the rest?” Hu Jin moved his hand faster than a blade.

Because only one part of his body was covered, Chi Yuyang could clearly see the smooth lines of his muscles.

Watching his efficient movements, she couldn’t help but sigh—serious men… serious male beastmen, gave off way too much raw presence.

“The rest, I haven’t thought about yet.” She quickly lowered her head, forcing herself to change the subject. “Later, let’s go out for a walk.”

Now that they had solved the issues of water and rice, the next thing Chi Yuyang wanted to find was salt.

Even though she’d been saving as much as possible, the salt she brought from her world was already half gone.

Considering she might be living here for a very long time, Chi Yuyang felt that salt was an indispensable seasoning.

More importantly, today, in order to save salt, she had used sugar instead.

Yet Hu Jin had said it tasted no different from unsalted food.

And he had been in human form at the time.

That was something she hadn’t expected.

It turned out feline beastmen couldn’t taste sweetness, whether in human or beast form.

Remembering Hu Jin’s unusually excited expression whenever he ate salted meat, Chi Yuyang became even more determined to find salt.

There was so little she could do for him.

Now that she had a chance, of course she didn’t want to let it slip by.

Chi Yuyang thought that as long as she could find seawater, she would be able to extract salt from it.

“Hu Jin, is there an ocean nearby?” Before leaving, she decided to confirm their destination.

“Ocean? I’ve never seen one.” Hu Jin shook his head.

Noticing the fleeting disappointment in her eyes, he quickly added: “But the clan leader has seen a lot—he might know. When we return to the tiger tribe, I’ll ask him for you!”

“Alright. Then for today, let’s just go pick some fruit.” Chi Yuyang agreed.

At the same time, she found herself faintly looking forward to meeting the clan leader.

Hu Jin had mentioned him many times, as though he were capable of anything.

She also knew he was the one who had raised Hu Jin.

All in all, the clan leader should be a benevolent and wise tiger.

—

Two days later, Hu Jin took Chi Yuyang back to the tiger tribe’s settlement to meet the clan leader.

“This is the tiger tribe’s settlement?” Chi Yuyang asked as she walked through the forest, hand in hand with Hu Jin.

The area around them didn’t look much different from the two forests she had stayed in before.

To be honest, she was even starting to feel a bit aesthetically fatigued.

And having just seen the sheep tribe’s village a few days ago—a typical tribal community—Chi Yuyang was now very curious. For tiger beastmen, who were solitary by nature, what would their tribe look like?

“What’s the tiger tribe’s settlement like?”

“Our tribe’s territory is centered around the chieftain’s domain, with the surrounding tigers’ territories added to it,” Hu Jin explained.

“All tiger beastmen live within the same area?” Chi Yuyang thought back to the cave she had once encountered, “Then the place where I met you—is it close to here?”

Hu Jin didn’t answer her directly.

He turned his head, staring off at something unseen, remaining silent for a long time.

“Hu Jin?” Chi Yuyang sensitively noticed something was off in his mood. “Are you okay?”

“My father wasn’t a tiger beastman from this forest,” Hu Jin suddenly brought up something else, out of nowhere. “The chieftain said he came from another place.”

Chi Yuyang didn’t interrupt, only listening quietly.

“So, the first thing I did after coming of age was to leave the tribe.”

“Wife, I—” Halfway through speaking, Hu Jin suddenly fell silent.

He didn’t know how to say the rest.

“After we deal with the ape tribe issue, let’s go look for your father,” Chi Yuyang finished the words he wanted to say.

Hu Jin suddenly turned to look at her.

Her expression made it clear she wasn’t joking.

“I’m an orphan. If I knew my parents were still alive somewhere in the world, I’d want to meet them, no matter how they live or why they left me. I’d still want to see them at least once.”

Though Hu Jin was a beastman, after spending time with him, Chi Yuyang realized he understood and carried human-like emotions too.

“Actually, my mother…” Hu Jin had only just said a few words, when he seemed to notice something and stopped abruptly.

Out of nowhere, a gust of wind turned into a lightning-fast strike, slashing straight toward him.

Hu Jin quickly shielded Chi Yuyang, taking the blow full on his back.

“Hu Jin?” In his arms, Chi Yuyang cried out his name in panic.

What was happening? Had the ape tribe launched their plan earlier than expected?

She felt him shudder at the moment of impact.

Chi Yuyang tried to check his injuries.

Right now, she deeply regretted not bringing her toolkit along.

Before they set out, Hu Jin had assured her there would be no danger.

“Hu Jin, let me see your wound.”

But Hu Jin refused to let her move.

“You little tiger brat, so you do know how to come back!” A booming voice rang out from not far away, laced with obvious irritation.

As the deafening roar echoed, another strike came slashing with a biting cold wind.

“Chieftain, my wife is here! You can hit me, but don’t hurt her!” Hu Jin held Chi Yuyang tightly, giving her a reassuring look.

The moment he said that, the attack suddenly halted, dissipating into nothing halfway.

“Wife? That female following you is actually your wife?” The voice was filled with disbelief, but no further strike came.

“Hu Jin, are you okay?” Seeing the chance, Chi Yuyang quickly checked his back.

There was a long pink mark stretching from his neck all the way down to his waist.

Even the animal hide he wore was torn open with a jagged split.

There was no blood, but it was clear the strike had been harsh.

Before Hu Jin could respond, that powerful voice rang out again.

“His hide’s thick, his flesh tough! Unless I beat him a few more times, he’ll never learn his lesson!”

This time Hu Jin stayed silent, as if accepting those words.

He only pulled Chi Yuyang along and continued walking forward, stopping before a patch of dense vegetation.

Behind it was the vague outline of a cave.

In her daze, Chi Yuyang hadn’t caught all of the earlier conversation.

But now, standing here, she guessed the owner of that voice must be the chieftain who had raised Hu Jin.

After all, this way of hiding a cave was exactly the same.

“Chieftain, I was wrong.” Hu Jin’s naturally deep voice, now softened in apology, sounded almost like a whisper.

If she hadn’t been listening carefully, Chi Yuyang might have thought his lips had just moved without sound.

But the beastman inside the cave clearly heard him.

“You planning to make the same mistake again next time?” The chieftain clearly wasn’t appeased.

And his next words made Chi Yuyang’s heart tremble.

“Let your wife come inside. You wait outside.”

Chi Yuyang raised her eyes to Hu Jin, silently pleading for help.

She wanted to go in together with him.

“The chieftain is a good person, wife, don’t be afraid,” Hu Jin actually smiled.

But after that earlier “greeting,” Chi Yuyang doubted the truth of that claim.

Looking at his carefree smile, she couldn’t help but reach out and touch his face.

This silly tiger.

At the same time, Chi Yuyang feared that if she didn’t go in, more attacks would come from within.

With that thought, she gritted her teeth, lowered her head, and walked toward the cave.

It was very much the look of a nervous bride finally going to meet her in-laws.