TFBAT – Chapter 44

In reality—

Lord Xue watched helplessly as Yuan Wu hurled an attack toward Hu Jin—using the very power Lord Xue had just given him not long ago.

Hu Jin didn’t dodge.

He turned swiftly, shielding the blow with his back.

Unlike Hu Zhuo’s strict yet harmless strikes, Yuan Wu’s attack was one meant to kill.

The moment the attack hit, Hu Jin let out a muffled groan.

There was no visible wound on his back, but a streak of blue lightning slithered across his skin like a sentient creature, slowly spreading from his back toward his chest.

Chi Yuyang was still in his arms.

And Yuan Wu’s target was precisely the person within them.

“Yuan Wu, the reason I haven’t fought you until now is because—at the very least—you’ve kept your word,” Hu Jin said calmly.

“If I had to choose, I’d give up my life for my wife.” He paused briefly. “Because this life… was saved by her.”

Gazing at Chi Yuyang’s sleeping face, his eyes gradually dimmed. “But if you dare lay another finger on my wife…”

Hu Jin’s voice grew lower and lower, to the point that even Lord Xue couldn’t hear the rest of it clearly.

Yet as a fifth-tier beastman, Lord Xue could sense the growing pressure radiating from Hu Jin—it was intensifying, even beginning to surpass Yuan Wu’s.

Yuan Wu’s hand trembled around his cane. He could feel the other soul inside him shivering too.

Lord Xue’s heart tightened in alarm.

Hu Jin wasn’t undergoing a tribulation, yet he’d already reached the threshold of advancement.

Perhaps… this child—

Sensing Hu Jin’s change, the soul hidden within Yuan Wu’s body looked out through his eyes, staring at Hu Jin’s face.

Hu Jin’s features bore a striking resemblance to what Lord Xue had looked like in his youth.

But though their eyes looked the same, in truth, they were not.

Both possessed heterochromatic pupils, yet within Hu Jin’s bright gaze, she saw the same expression that the tigress she had once hated so deeply used to show.

“—I trust him.”

“Because I love him, and he loves me.”

“I won’t let you hurt him, and he won’t hurt me.”

Those were the words that tigress had said to her once— and she could still remember them vividly, even though the two of them had long forgotten each other.

For her, this was the best ending.

Her son wasn’t ruthless enough—so she would make the decision for him.

“Why is your child allowed to live?”

“Why must my child suffer?”

“Just because he loved you—?”

The déjà vu of the scene was unbearable to her.

“You two—go to hell together!”

“Enough, Yuan Yan!” Lord Xue suddenly shouted.

“I have never loved you. Let it go—stop tormenting our child!”

…

“The price Lord Xue paid to advance wasn’t his offspring—it was love!”

“The love he felt for his partner!” Chi Yuyang said firmly, pausing between each word.

“But I think… the one he loved was Hu Jin’s mother.”

“Not you, Yuan Yan.”

At that moment, reality and illusion clashed violently— Yuan Wu suddenly coughed up a mouthful of dark blood.

He didn’t even try to catch his cane. Instead, he slowly fell to the ground.

As if finally freed of a lifelong burden, a faintly relieved smile appeared on his face.

“Wife!”

When Chi Yuyang opened her eyes, she saw Hu Jin’s furry ears brushing against her cheek.

“Hu Jin!”

She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, forcing back the tears threatening to fall.

“Mother, you heard that,” Yuan Wu murmured. “Father never loved you. You can let go now.”

When he opened his eyes again, his pupils had turned a deep blue.

“…” Chi Yuyang and Hu Jin exchanged a glance.

“Wife, don’t you think… we’ve just been used by Yuan Wu?” Hu Jin said as he checked her over from head to toe, only relaxing when he confirmed she was unhurt before pulling her close again.

“Mm.” Chi Yuyang nodded. “Otherwise, he wouldn’t have given us so many clues.”

As she nodded, she took hold of Hu Jin’s restless hand.

Indeed, her tiger’s palm was still the warmest.

“I think he wanted to force the soul of his mother out of his body,” she said softly.

Then destroy her.

“When I advanced, my life force began to fade—it couldn’t sustain two souls. I thought my mother would come out then, but she only surfaced for a moment. So I had to continue,” Yuan Wu explained.

Then he turned to her. “Chi, when did you realize it?”

“Not long ago.” Chi Yuyang shrugged, meeting his gaze directly.

His blue eyes were still clouded with something murky— impure.

“When you said your mother was inside you, but had already left.”

Yuan Wu had claimed his mother had departed, and yet she had appeared before them once again.

From beginning to end, despite all his despicable deeds, Yuan Wu had at least never truly lied to them.

So if he did lie—it must have carried meaning.

Moreover, Chi Yuyang didn’t believe that after learning the cost of advancement, Yuan Wu would fail to understand that Lord Xue’s price had been his love for Hu Jin’s mother.

Only Yuan Yan—blinded by jealousy and hatred—would insist that what Lord Xue sacrificed was his offspring.

“Since birth, I’ve always been weak,” Yuan Wu said pitifully, lowering his eyes.

“So my mother extended my life when I was very young.”

“She was originally a third-tier spiritual controller—so her consciousness, along with her soul, stayed inside my body. At the same time, it changed my appearance.”

He was supposed to be a tiger, yet because of his mother’s interference, he became an ape.

“Later, I realized that my mother’s life was already running out. Before she extended my lifespan, she forcibly altered Hu Jin’s mother’s memories.”

Perhaps she simply wanted to keep living—through his body.

“When I reached the fourth stage, the fragment of her soul that remained inside me had become a burden.”

So, he had two choices: find another beastman to inject new power into him, or destroy the remnant of his mother’s soul within his body.

And he chose both.

Chi Yuyang and Hu Jin both fell silent.

Although Yuan Wu had always had his mother’s companionship, her love was far too twisted.

She even tampered with Hu Jin’s mother’s memory, never realizing how much pain that had caused Hu Jin.

“You don’t need to act pitiful.” Chi Yuyang’s tone suddenly turned cold. She glared fiercely at Yuan Wu. “In the beginning, you did intend to take Hu Jin’s life. Even if you claim you were being controlled by your mother, we’re not letting you off.”

Perhaps Yuan Wu’s actions had been influenced by his mother, but more than that, they came from his own will.

He had simply seized the chance to escape his mother’s control.

If this opportunity hadn’t appeared, he would have had Hu Jin extend his life instead.

No—

Chi Yuyang’s instincts told her that he definitely would have.

After she finished speaking, she looked at Hu Jin.

Ever since she left the illusion, Hu Jin had been staring at her—

And grinning like a fool.

“Since your father has given you power and you no longer have to be controlled by your mother…” Chi Yuyang, infected by Hu Jin’s silly smile, broke into a radiant grin herself. “Didn’t you claim to be stronger than Hu Jin?”

“Let’s fight then,” Hu Jin chimed in immediately.

He turned his head toward Yuan Wu.

“Your body has already merged with your father’s power.” That much was obvious from Yuan Wu’s earlier attacks.

“Or do you need to rest for a few days first?” Hu Jin smiled, as if offering him a way to step down gracefully.

The tiger tribe’s power allowed wounds to heal quickly, and with his mother’s restraints now gone, Yuan Wu was itching to try.

He shook his head.

“Let’s fight now.”

Lord Xue, standing nearby, made no move to stop them. He wanted to see just how much potential Hu Jin possessed.

A few minutes later, the illusion’s scene became reality.

Yuan Wu lay sprawled on the ground, blood at the corner of his mouth, utterly defeated.

“Hu Jin! You’re the best!” Chi Yuyang ran forward and leapt into his arms.

Catching his wife, Hu Jin lifted her up and spun her around a few times on the spot.

“Stop, stop, stop! I’m dizzy! You stupid tiger! Put me down!”

Yuan Wu looked at Hu Jin—unharmed, smiling, holding the woman he loved—and slowly closed his eyes.

He had lost.

But at least, compared to his mother, he had lost cleanly.

Perhaps from the moment he’d felt fear under Hu Jin’s assault, he should have foreseen his end.

So why had he still pressed forward without hesitation?

As his eyes shut, the image of a girl’s smiling face surfaced in his mind.

His feelings had lost because they were not as pure as Hu Jin’s.

—

That evening, Yuan Wu left early, while Chi Yuyang and Hu Jin stayed at Lord Xue’s dwelling.

Lord Xue said he wanted to teach Hu Jin a few moves to strengthen his power.

“Hu Jin, why was Yuan Wu born sickly?” Chi Yuyang asked, sitting by the fire and chatting with him.

“I heard from the chieftain that if a couple bond is formed by force, any child born from it will be unblessed,” Hu Jin replied.

So, it seemed Lord Xue had never truly loved Yuan Yan.

As for how they became mates, Chi Yuyang didn’t want to think about it further.

Yuan Yan’s madness was already beyond her imagination.

Chi Yuyang pushed away her thoughts and turned to look at Hu Jin, who was hugging her from behind.

“The reverse is true too, right?” she asked softly.

To give birth to someone as exceptional as Hu Jin, she thought, Lord Xue must have loved Hu Jin’s mother deeply before paying the price.

Unfortunately, they hadn’t made it to the end together.

Hu Jin nodded.

“Our cubs will definitely be amazing!” His face shone with pride and joy.

“Mm.” Chi Yuyang kissed the side of his face.

“Wife… that thing I wanted to tell you before.” Hu Jin’s expression suddenly turned serious, his eyes filled with resolve.

“What I wanted to say is—I’ve decided not to advance anymore.”

“I can’t bear the price required to reach the fifth stage.”

Chi Yuyang froze.

She had already guessed what he wanted to say, but hearing him say it aloud still made her eyes sting.

Like his father, he saw his partner as the most important existence—but in some ways, he was different.

Hu Zhuo had once mentioned that Hu Jin’s father failed in his advancement once before.

Perhaps at that time, he had already understood the cost, yet still chose to attempt it again.

He had never even questioned whether the price he paid might have been his offspring.

Chi Yuyang had a guess, but it was far too cruel.

At this point, the truth no longer mattered.

She looked at Hu Jin before her—so earnest, smiling so brightly—and couldn’t help but lift her own lips to hide the tears that were about to fall.

“Because you, my wife, are the most, most, most… most important thing in my tiger life.”

Hu Jin stretched the last word out, emphasizing countless “mosts,” making Chi Yuyang swallow back her tears.

Pure as Hu Jin was, he never hid his emotions.

“Hu Jin…” She wrapped her arms around his waist, just about to confess, when his brows suddenly furrowed.

“What’s wrong?” Chi Yuyang sensed something off about the feel of his back.

Before Hu Jin could answer, she quickly moved behind him to check.

“Yuan! Wu!” Chi Yuyang gritted out his name between her teeth.

No wonder he’d left in such a hurry.

On Hu Jin’s back, what was once smooth, snow-white skin was now mangled and bloody.

Heart aching, Chi Yuyang took out medicine from her pouch and carefully treated his wounds.

Her movements were gentle, but her mouth was merciless.

“If I ever see that filthy ape again, I’ll tear him apart! Despicable, shameless, worthless—he deserves to die!”

The wounds Hu Jin had dealt Yuan Wu healed completely within an hour, but the injuries Yuan Wu had inflicted on Hu Jin were only now showing themselves!

“Wife, I don’t hurt.” Hu Jin tried to comfort her, blinking innocently. “If possible, mating could relieve the pain too.”

Hu Jin’s wide eyes were filled with eager anticipation as he looked at her.

“…” Chi Yuyang remembered something she had put off for a long time.

She didn’t stop her hands, but her tone softened.

“Hu Jin, I have something to tell you too.”