TFBAT – Chapter 33

“I know,” Chi Yuyang said with a smile. “Then listen to your wife and eat.”

She brought the meat to Hu Jin’s mouth, mimicking the look in his eyes from that morning.

“Who forced me to eat breakfast this morning?” Chi Yuyang’s smile didn’t fade. “Now you obediently eat your meal.”

Hu Jin didn’t open his mouth immediately.

He first nuzzled Chi Yuyang in her arms and then leaned against her shoulder to take the meat from her hand.

Before giving the meat to Hu Jin, Chi Yuyang had tasted it herself to ensure nothing harmful, like cocoa beans, was added.

It tasted like chicken.

So that meant chickens existed on this continent.

Unfortunately, she hadn’t seen any live ones yet.

Otherwise, she could raise a few chickens for eggs.

Chi Yuyang sighed.

She could only think about chickens and eggs after Hu Jin’s father’s matters were settled.

Thinking this made her miss Hu Jin’s stone house even more.

Compared to a cave, she naturally preferred living inside a house, and she always felt the soil near the stone house was more suitable for planting than in the Tiger Tribe village.

Since the chicken was cut into small chunks, Chi Yuyang had to repeatedly pick up pieces from the lotus leaf and hand them to Hu Jin.

Her right shoulder began to ache from the repetitive motion.

Chi Yuyang tapped her right shoulder with her other hand, causing Hu Jin’s head, which had been leaning there, to lose support.

“Wife…” Hu Jin’s head shook slightly, and his voice drifted further from her ear.

Chi Yuyang turned to see Hu Jin sitting upright.

She was about to explain that she just needed a rest when she noticed he had placed both hands on her shoulders.

“Wife, let me massage you.”

Chi Yuyang didn’t refuse.

Hu Jin’s pressure was just right, controlled and precise—she even suspected he had secretly learned massage techniques.

“Hu Jin, how do you know this?” she asked aloud.

“I learned by watching the shaman heal the tribe’s injuries,” Hu Jin blinked his clear eyes. “The shaman said it helps the body recover.”

Chi Yuyang was momentarily stunned.

This tiger’s learning ability amazed her once again.

“If it feels good, I can help you with other parts next time,” Hu Jin continued in his tiger-like way of speaking.

“…That sounded weird,” Chi Yuyang thought.

She glanced at Hu Jin; his expression hadn’t changed.

Indeed, sometimes human and tiger thinking just didn’t align.

Just as Chi Yuyang relaxed a bit, she heard the second part of his sentence drift out.

“The shaman said it also helps partners—”

“Hu Jin!” Chi Yuyang quickly shoved a piece of meat into his mouth. “Eat your meat!”

With meat in his mouth, Hu Jin closed it.

But it couldn’t stop Chi Yuyang’s mind from racing with thoughts.

She wasn’t used to not being intimate with Hu Jin last night.

The moment the thought appeared, even she was startled.

She nervously shifted forward, trying to get out of Hu Jin’s embrace.

But the instant she moved, Hu Jin noticed.

“Wife, what’s wrong?”

“N-nothing.” Chi Yuyang kept her eyes on the meat. “Hu Jin, I have a question for you.”

“Okay.”

“Last night, when you heard the ape tribe… sounds, did you only think their time was short and nothing else?” Chi Yuyang said it all in one breath, her fingers fidgeting nervously.

As a human, having a physiological reaction to what she heard was normal.

She was just trying to justify her own colored thoughts—and maybe drag Hu Jin into it.

But Hu Jin was a tiger.

“They were in heat,” Hu Jin said after thinking for a moment.

Chi Yuyang almost couldn’t breathe.

Clearly, when she was on him, he had reactions.

By that logic, she was less pure than Hu Jin.

Chi Yuyang lifted her head slightly and could see the marks she had left on Hu Jin’s neck a few days ago.

…She didn’t even know who was corrupting whom.

—

After dinner, Chi Yuyang took Hu Jin for their usual walk.

In this era, she had little entertainment, so she often felt heavier each day.

However, a certain tiger had weighed her and confirmed she was the same as before.

Hu Jin’s tone even carried a hint of disappointment when saying it.

Chi Yuyang still didn’t understand why he was so obsessed with fattening her up.

She attributed it to differences in human and beast aesthetics.

While walking between the stone houses, Chi Yuyang noticed something else.

Every few houses, there was a large stall with food.

There was meat, fish, and vegetables.

But mostly vegetables.

She stopped to watch.

A few female beastmen divided the food into equal portions, placed them on lotus-like leaves, and the waiting beastmen would take the prepared portions.

“Which families haven’t collected theirs yet? Yuan Ye, remember to deliver them later,” a female in the center said, her voice sweet enough to catch Chi Yuyang’s attention.

Not only her voice, but her appearance was sweet too.

Apes looked very similar to humans, and even in modern society, this female would be the type to turn heads.

Following her gaze, Chi Yuyang realized the beastman named Yuan Ye was the one who had appeared at their door that morning.

Chi Yuyang could vaguely sense the respect and affection the tribe had for Yuan Ye.

She had already guessed that Yuan Ye’s actions weren’t only about simple trade.

Now, connecting the morning’s event with the current scene, she seemed to have her answer.

Fewer beastmen queued than there were stone houses, and some had visible injuries.

Chi Yuyang guessed Yuan Ye distributed free aid to the injured or those with difficulties.

She wasn’t sure if Yuan Ye would provide breakfast to her stone house, but it seemed conditional.

The female’s words suggested a kind of list existed.

“If needed, you can register too,” Yuan Ye’s voice suddenly came from behind Chi Yuyang.

She didn’t know the requirements for registration, but she knew nothing in the tribe escaped Yuan Ye’s notice.

So he probably knew…

“Though you just exchanged plenty of food today, so probably not necessary,” he added after clearing his throat.

“Greetings, Chief.” “Greetings, Chief.”

When Yuan Ye appeared, all surrounding beastmen greeted him without stopping their work.

Several females looked at him admiringly.

The males seemed accustomed and showed no displeasure.

Yuan Ye waved one empty hand, saying nothing further.

He slowly approached Chi Yuyang.

Hu Jin immediately positioned himself between them.

“Something?”

“I just wanted to ask, what Chi thinks of our tribe,” Yuan Ye said calmly, looking at Hu Jin.

The blow Hu Jin gave him still throbbed slightly, but his expression remained neutral.

Hu Jin also showed no strong emotion.

Although he didn’t want to admit it, Yuan Ye’s way of managing the ape tribe was indeed effective.

Most tiger tribe deaths came from severe injuries.

The previous chief had neglected the tiger tribe, so even injured members didn’t return.

It wasn’t until Hu Zhuo became chief, appointed his brother as shaman, and required all tigers to stay close to the territory, that mortality decreased.

“I have no opinion,” Chi Yuyang shook her head, breaking the silent contest between Hu Jin and Yuan Ye.

Their eyes met, appearing calm, but she sensed the tension in the air.

“I won’t live here, so no matter how good it is, it doesn’t concern me,” she added.

Objectively, the ape tribe was indeed the closest to human society.

Provided it was a primitive human society.

Wherever Chi Yuyang lived, improvements were always needed.

Even if she admitted Yuan Ye’s innovation in a prehistoric beast world was unexpected, it didn’t attract her.

Tigers were naturally solitary, but to adapt, they abandoned tradition and accepted communal life.

What fascinated her most was Chief Hu Zhuo’s philosophy on partners.

She felt the chief unconsciously favored monogamy.

His partner died long ago, yet he never ended the relationship.

Hu Jin, raised by him, would only recognize one partner for life.

As a modern human, Chi Yuyang found this most appealing.

She noticed some male beastmen had multiple females.

Arriving in another world, she would do her best to survive but wouldn’t abandon her principles.

Hu Jin unconsciously protected those principles.

“Hu Jin,” Chi Yuyang said, holding his hand tightly. “After we see your father, let’s go home.”