TFBAT – Chapter 36

“Hu Jin, is this the lullaby of your Tiger Clan?” Chi Yuyang finally managed to suppress her laughter and spoke the words out loud.

Hu Jin nodded, then realized that Chi Yuyang couldn’t see his face in the dark. So he added, “Yes.”

“Did the clan leader compose it?” Chi Yuyang asked curiously.

“No, it’s been passed down by the older tigers,” Hu Jin explained seriously, not quite understanding why his wife was so interested in a simple lullaby.

In the darkness, he blinked, and Chi Yuyang saw two flickering lights slowly moving, finally settling in her eyes.

“If you like it, I can sing it for you every day.”

…Falling asleep every day accompanied by “Two Tigers.”

Chi Yuyang quickly imagined the scene in her mind, then traced the bright eyes to his head and messily ruffled his silver hair.

“I like it, but I still prefer sleeping with one tiger.”

Hu Jin froze for a moment before understanding the meaning behind her words.

He immediately transformed back into his tiger form.

Feeling the change in touch, Chi Yuyang gradually fell asleep while silently marveling at another new skill Hu Jin had shown her today.

This tiger constantly surprised her.

—

The next morning, when Chi Yuyang woke up, Hu Jin had already returned to human form.

He was staring intently into the depths of the cave.

“Has Yuan Wu woken up?” she yawned.

“He should be awake, but he hasn’t moved yet,” Hu Jin replied.

At that moment, the sound of a cane tapping on the ground echoed from inside the cave.

Moments later, Yuan Wu’s figure slowly appeared before them.

“You’re awake.”

It seemed he had calculated exactly when Chi Yuyang would wake. He only came out once she opened her eyes, sending a chill down her spine.

She had thought that by staying at the cave entrance with Hu Jin, they could prevent Yuan Wu from sneaky actions and watch his every move.

Yet…

Coincidence. It had to be coincidence.

Chi Yuyang comforted herself.

“Since you’re awake, let’s go.”

Yuan Wu’s voice, tinged with a smile, echoed in the empty cave, but Chi Yuyang couldn’t smile back.

He then asked, “What do you want to eat?”

Before she could answer, Hu Jin shot Yuan Wu a glance, full of warning. Then he pulled some fruit from the cloth bag and shoved it into Chi Yuyang’s hands.

Since there were beastmen living in the mountains, there should be animals here as well.

But so far, following Yuan Wu, Hu Jin had not detected the scent of any living creature. Even the plants on the trees and ground differed greatly from those in the forest.

“You’ll see animals at the foot of the next mountain,” Yuan Wu said with a smile, seemingly guessing what Hu Jin was thinking.

Unfortunately, even if Yuan Wu could predict Hu Jin’s thoughts, it wouldn’t shake his resolve.

Yuan Wu smiled at Hu Jin, but in his heart, he was thinking differently: this tiger was more complex than he imagined.

…

Perhaps due to hunger, Yuan Wu increased his pace today.

On the mountain where the ape clan lived, aside from a lake, there were only a few bare trees.

Most of the fruits had already been picked by the ape-beastmen.

Because Yuan Wu moved faster, they reached the foot of another mountain by noon.

This mountain carried a stronger fragrance and signs of wildlife.

Ahead of them lay a sizable forest.

“There are animals here,” Yuan Wu introduced.

Hu Jin also smelled the presence of living creatures and licked his lips.

Noticing Hu Jin’s small gesture, Chi Yuyang tilted her head and adjusted his tail that had flailed around.

Although Hu Jin had said he could go without food these past few days, he still became excited at the mention of meat.

However, his mind was focused on something else.

“Finally, we can hunt!” he whispered in Chi Yuyang’s ear.

With that, he couldn’t resist transforming back into his beast form.

He curled Chi Yuyang up with his tail and placed her on his back.

Hu Jin explained that his beast form consumed more energy than his human form, so on the first day, Chi Yuyang had kept him human to conserve energy.

Now, aware of animals in the mountains, his unused claws were eager for action.

Yuan Wu didn’t stop him; he even added, “I’ll wait here for you.” As if showing goodwill.

But from start to finish, he had never truly had good intentions.

Chi Yuyang patted the white tiger’s head and hugged his neck.

Understanding her signal, Hu Jin headed into the forest.

Chi Yuyang had never seen him hunt in person, so this was a new experience for her.

Yet her presence did not interfere.

Even carrying her, the white tiger moved without making a sound.

His eyes were sharp, scanning for prey he assumed was hiding behind the grass.

From Chi Yuyang’s perspective, the prey seemed to be pecking at something on the ground.

What could it be?

Her gaze locked on the patch of grass as well.

As the white tiger stepped into the grass, she saw the prey clearly.

A chicken!

Before Chi Yuyang could react, Hu Jin pounced, pinning the chicken to the ground.

His front paws quickly extended, and with a soft crack, the chicken’s head fell to the ground.

…My eggs.

Chi Yuyang mourned silently in her mind.

But it was more important that Hu Jin ate.

At least now she knew where the chickens were.

In the next five minutes, Hu Jin captured several more chickens.

Before Chi Yuyang could speak, the chickens were already dead under his paws.

She regretted not clarifying earlier, while also wondering if chickens were the only animals in these mountains.

If it were other prey, she wouldn’t have stopped him.

Clearly, Hu Jin’s hunting speed outpaced her reaction.

Truly the nature of a tiger.

“Wife, why do these birds look different from those in the forest?” Human-form Hu Jin asked, staring at the chickens, puzzled.

He instinctively sought answers from his intelligent wife.

“They’re chickens,” Chi Yuyang sighed.

Time was pressing, or she could have tried making a beggar’s chicken.

“Hu Jin, eat. I have leftover meat and fruit from yesterday in the bag,” Chi Yuyang squatted and handed him food.

Even if there were firewood nearby, cooking the chicken would take time, so she let him eat it raw.

Yet watching human-form Hu Jin bite into the chicken, calmly licking the blood from his lips, Chi Yuyang felt a pang of regret.

She had seen him devour raw meat as a tiger and wasn’t afraid, but seeing blood slowly drip onto his bare chest felt off.

“Hu Jin, why don’t you turn back into a tiger?”

Hu Jin shyly rubbed his nose and replied, “There isn’t enough meat…”

But all the nearby chickens were already in his paws.

To hunt more, he’d have to go deeper into the forest.

Chi Yuyang lowered her head silently and bit into a red fruit.

Then she said, “Come here.”

Hu Jin obediently walked to her.

Chi Yuyang poured some water from a plastic bottle onto her hand and wiped the blood from Hu Jin’s chest.

The moment her hand touched him, he stiffened.

“How did you get blood all over your chest?” she asked, focusing on cleaning him.

“Wife…” Hu Jin’s voice carried a hint of grievance.

Chi Yuyang, still cleaning him, assumed he was reacting to her carelessness.

Yet she was the careless one.

Suddenly, her hand was held back.

Hu Jin stopped her.

“Hu Jin, you…” Chi Yuyang looked up and met his heterochromatic eyes.

She saw the familiar gaze.

…She felt she had done something, yet nothing.

“Wife, when you touch me like this…” Hu Jin’s low voice was clear enough for her to hear every word.

“I feel a little uncomfortable.”