TFBAT -Chapter 49

Chi Yuyang stared blankly at the figure before her.

Hu Jin hadn’t shifted back into his beast form, so that tiger roar just now couldn’t have come from him.

His ears had stopped trembling, but he still remained in human form.

“My wife has absolutely no problem.” Hu Jin enunciated each word coldly. “It’s all of you who have something wrong with your brains.”

As he spoke, the aura around him shifted.

“Hu Jin.” Hu Zhuo barked sharply, trying to stop him from exerting more pressure.

Many of the females had already begun trembling in fear.

Yet none of them were willing to leave.

Instead, Hu Jin’s overwhelming strength only made them more enthralled, their thoughts becoming even more improper.

They all knew that no matter how angry Hu Jin was, he would never strike a female.

And Hu Zhuo, as the clan leader, even though he thought their words had gone too far, still had to stand on their side.

At that moment, a figure slowly stepped into the cave entrance.

Her appearance made Hu Jin immediately withdraw all of his emotions.

Even in the dim, half-lit surroundings, Chi Yuyang caught the flicker of panic in his eyes. She tightened her grip on his hand.

“Hu Jin, is that your mother?”

“Mm.” Hu Jin squeezed her hand back.

“Hu Man.” Hu Zhuo nodded toward the newcomer.

Hu Man returned a gentle smile.

“Mother.” Hu Jin lowered his head slightly. “It’s been a long time.”

Hu Man walked over to them.

Up close, Chi Yuyang could clearly see her face.

Her features leaned more toward those of an Eastern human. There was almost no resemblance between her and Hu Jin, yet when she smiled, the expression in her eyes was exactly the same as Hu Jin’s when he was happy.

Hu Man reached out to ruffle her son’s silver hair.

“You’ve grown so much.”

Then she turned her gaze toward Chi Yuyang.

“This is your wife, isn’t she?” she said as she reached out to gently touch Chi Yuyang’s cheek. “Such a lovely child.”

Chi Yuyang couldn’t help lowering her head from the affectionate touch.

Hu Jin’s mother was far gentler than she had imagined.

Seeing both her son and daughter-in-law looking nervous and shy, Hu Man couldn’t help laughing.

After laughing, she turned back toward the juniors of the clan.

She had already warned them outside earlier. Now she spoke even more clearly.

“If you want to be Hu Jin’s partner, it’s very simple.” Her voice was warm and steady—not sharp or shrill like most female beastmen. Hearing it felt like a spring breeze brushing past, and the females’ eyes lit up in response.

“You either get Hu Jin’s recognition—like his wife.”

As she said this, Hu Man glanced at Chi Yuyang, who took a deep breath, waiting for the rest.

“Or,” Hu Man smiled slightly and lifted her arm to reveal three black markings, “you get my recognition. In other words—beat me.”

As a male, Hu Jin couldn’t discipline the females. But she, being both a female and an elder, absolutely could.

Hu Man’s gaze swept over them, as though searching for her first opponent.

Immediately, the females all froze with fear.

“Aunt Man…” Hu Wan spoke up at the worst possible moment. “Can’t you control Hu Jin? He actually scolded a female!”

At that, Hu Man lifted her eyelids, not even bothering to look at her directly.

She remembered this female.

The others couldn’t reach first rank either, but at least they tried.

This one never even attempted it—she only wanted to latch onto a strong beastman as a mate.

Without considering what she had to offer.

“Hu Jin, I didn’t discipline you before. That was my failure.” Regret flashed through Hu Man’s eyes. She gestured for Hu Jin to stay quiet. “But from now on, I won’t intervene anymore—because you’re already an adult.”

“But if anyone dares call him an abnormality again,” Hu Man’s voice echoed firmly, “I, as his mother, will not tolerate it.”

She wasn’t only saying this to the females inside the cave, but also to the males waiting outside.

Before coming in, she had seen the males around Hu Jin’s age gathered there. No doubt they planned to find some excuse to fight him again.

They never wanted to admit his excellence, always using “not liking his abnormality” as their excuse.

Though she knew Hu Jin could defeat every warrior in the tribe, as a mother, she simply wanted to protect him.

The desire to protect someone had nothing to do with ability.

Hu Jin’s wife understood that better than she did.

Watching Chi Yuyang comfort Hu Jin, Hu Man finally relaxed.

After regaining her memories, she had learned from Hu Zhuo that Hu Jin’s chosen mate was an unranked outsider. She had assumed her son was just acting out.

But now it was clear—he truly loved her.

His eyes were full of her.

…

Because of Hu Man’s arrival, even unwillingly, the females had no choice but to retreat from the cave.

They couldn’t defeat Hu Man, they couldn’t earn Hu Jin’s recognition, and even the chief advised them to consider other males in the tribe.

“Mother, you said you’re going to find Father?” Hu Jin sat on the ground, holding his wife in his arms.

When Hu Man nodded, Hu Jin told her the location of the snowy mountain.

This visit had been to bid farewell to Hu Zhuo.

“Then I’ll go now.” Hu Man patted her son’s head, then smiled at Chi Yuyang.

“Little Chi, Hu Jin is a good child, but sometimes he doesn’t know how to express his feelings properly.”

Chi Yuyang listened earnestly.

“But I can tell he really likes you.”

Both Hu Jin and Chi Yuyang’s faces flushed red.

“You two will be together for a very long time, so you must learn to understand and accept each other.”

It sounded simple—but was difficult to do in practice.

After saying that, Hu Man withdrew her hand and walked away.

With a wife at his side, Hu Jin would no longer be alone as before.

For so many years, he had always been lonely.

“I’m sorry, Hu Jin.” Hu Man finally said as she stepped out of the cave.

A faint glimmer of tears passed through her eyes.

“Hu Jin…” Chi Yuyang turned toward him.

Since his mother left, he hadn’t spoken. She and Hu Zhuo had been talking instead.

“I’m fine.” Hu Jin blinked. At his wife’s voice, his eyes suddenly lit up again.

“What were you thinking about just now?” Chi Yuyang asked curiously.

“Wife!” Hu Jin rubbed his face against hers.

“Mother’s words mean she really likes you!”

“Mm.” Chi Yuyang’s lips curved softly, waiting for him to continue.

“Ever since you became my partner…” Hu Jin’s upright tail swayed, his joy almost overflowing.  “I not only found Father—Mother also remembered me.”

“Thank the heavens for bringing you to me.”

Chi Yuyang froze.

Then she smiled.

In a sense, her transmigration truly was a cosmic joke.

But she was grateful too—for being sent to him.

Hu Zhuo nodded in agreement.

“Not only that, you two will also have children.” He returned the calming fruit to Chi Yuyang.

“If I’m not mistaken, the tree that bears this fruit grows near the snake tribe.”

“The snake tribe?” Chi Yuyang remembered Hu Jin saying he could reach them in half a day. “Then shall we go tomorrow?”

“Yes.” Hu Jin agreed.

“Though at this season, it’s probably not yet time for it to flower or fruit.” Hu Zhuo thought aloud. “But the snake tribe might have seeds.”

“We can bring the seeds back and have the goat tribe plant them.” Chi Yuyang grinned mischievously.

She wasn’t familiar with agricultural cycles here, but the goat tribe clearly excelled at it.

If they could grow cacao beans and rice, other crops shouldn’t be an issue.

Still, she needed something to trade with.

Fruit wasn’t in season yet, and she didn’t have much left in the stone house.

—

After bidding farewell to the chief, Hu Jin took Chi Yuyang back to their stone house.

Chi Yuyang paused in front of the bamboo door.

“Wife?”

“Hu Jin… do you think your mother and father will reconcile?” She already knew the answer the moment she asked.

Hu Jin had said this stone house was built by his father.

Xue Grandpa, born and raised in the snowy mountains, had always lived in snow huts…

Yet he built this stone house.

The meaning behind it was clear.

She hoped their story would have a good ending.

“Hu Jin, let’s go inside.”

But just as she stepped forward, she noticed Hu Jin glance sharply toward a certain direction.

Following his gaze, she saw a towering tree.

“Is something wrong?”

“Probably just a small animal passing by.” Hu Jin withdrew his gaze and shook his head.

Inside, Chi Yuyang checked over everything in the house.

“Why does it feel like the stored fruit is a bit less?” She counted again.

Maybe she was misremembering?

She’d been thinking so much about trading fruit on the way back… maybe she’d gotten it mixed up.

Then she checked the bamboo tube holding the rice.

“…Why does it feel like the rice disappeared this fast?”

“Hu Jin, after we return from the snake tribe, I want to get more rice from the goat tribe,” she said.

Hu Jin noted it—while secretly forming a thought of his own.

…

“Good night, Hu Jin.”

“Good night, Wife.”

Once the person in his arms fell asleep, the white tiger quietly slipped outside.

He climbed up the tall tree he had noticed earlier and waited silently.

A long time passed—nothing happened.

Though spring had come and the weather was warming, he had grown used to sleeping beside his wife every night. He didn’t want her to wake up and worry if she didn’t find him.

Just as he was considering going back inside, movement stirred beneath the tree.

Something small and white darted past like the wind.

He leaped down immediately.

But the white little creature had already taken advantage of the moment and slipped into the stone house.

The way it moved—so familiar with the place—it was clearly not its first time there.

The cold gleam in the white tiger’s vertical pupils dimmed.

“Rrrowr!”

Chi Yuyang was awakened by the sound. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up.

“Tuantuan? What’s wrong?”

In her half-awake state, she still occasionally used the nickname she’d given him.

But the creature before her really was small, round, and snowy white.

“Hu Jin, did you turn into a cub again?” she exclaimed.

No.

Looking closer, she realized the fluffball had snow-white fur—but its ears and tail were not tiger-like.

Its ears were pointed, and on its back was a fluffy tail.

“Rrrooo!”

Hu Jin slammed open the bamboo door, his roar urgent, with a warning tone.

Chi Yuyang froze mid-movement.

“Rrrowr!”

The white fluffball on the ground wasn’t backing down—it returned the roar defiantly.

With the half-open bamboo door letting in moonlight, Chi Yuyang finally saw the little creature clearly.