TFBAT – Chapter 5

But this beast was still in its juvenile stage, and after less than a day of being together, Chi Yuyang found that her trust in Tuantuan outweighed her fear.

Before she could even react, Tuantuan had already rushed to her side.

“Awroo, awroo, awroo.”

Tuantuan circled around Chi Yuyang once, its nose twitching lightly as if trying to locate where she was hurt.

After a short moment, Tuantuan stopped, its gaze burning into a certain part of Chi Yuyang’s body.

Seeing that Tuantuan wasn’t doing anything excessive, Chi Yuyang let out a sigh of relief.

“Tuantuan, turn around.” She needed to put on the disposable underwear and sanitary pad.

But the little cub didn’t move an inch. It seemed to be struggling with some kind of dilemma.

Chi Yuyang sighed, reached out, and grabbed Tuantuan by the scruff of the neck, forcibly pushing it to the other side of the cave.

“Be good, don’t look back.”

Hu Jin, preoccupied with his own thoughts, also obeyed Chi Yuyang’s words for the time being.

He was mulling over the fact that the scent on the female’s body was slightly different from ordinary blood. On top of that, she carried a faint fragrance that seemed to lure tigers. This stirred up a restless agitation inside him.

“All done, Tuantuan.”

While Hu Jin was still lost in his tangled thoughts, Chi Yuyang’s voice came from the other side.

“Awroo.” Hearing Chi Yuyang’s call, Hu Jin immediately cast his questions aside. He figured he could just ask her directly after he returned to his beastman form.

So he padded over to Chi Yuyang’s side and slowly lay down.

At this moment, another question popped into Chi Yuyang’s mind.

The fruits she and Tuantuan had found earlier in the forest looked similar enough to Earth fruits that she could classify them as such. But most fruits were cooling in nature.

Could she really survive the coming week eating only these?

Was she supposed to rely on the same thing for sustenance day after day?

No, she would have to venture farther out to see what else she could find.

Besides, Tuantuan couldn’t possibly be the only animal here—there had to be other living creatures around.

Thinking this, Chi Yuyang, who was sitting on the ground, couldn’t help but reach out to stroke the little cub nestled against her leg.

“Tuantuan, can I entrust you with the great mission of foraging?” she asked, and then burst into laughter herself.

The tiger cub in front of her was so frail that she could pick it up with one hand. To her, it was just a slightly larger kitten—she might even have more fighting power than Tuantuan.

Unexpectedly, Tuantuan rubbed against her leg in response, its turquoise-blue eyes shimmering with a trace of determination.

In that instant, Chi Yuyang suddenly longed for Tuantuan to grow up quickly.

Because of her physical state, drowsiness suddenly washed over her. She leaned against the cave wall and began chatting with Tuantuan.

Tuantuan’s snow-white fur was neatly groomed, and now it looked even shinier and softer than when they had first met.

“Tuantuan, you’re really beautiful.”

Chi Yuyang had long been used to living alone. So even in this situation, she didn’t feel all that lonely—especially since Tuantuan was by her side.

“With you here, it’s really nice…” Chi Yuyang said absentmindedly. The words made Hu Jin’s heart tighten. Fortunately, he was in his beast form; otherwise, his face would have flushed red.

Tuantuan licked its front paw a little awkwardly. Chi Yuyang thought it was bored, so she began sharing stories from her past.

“When I was little…”

She knew Tuantuan could understand her, because the cub’s ears perked up and its round eyes sparkled like stars.

Time ticked by, and the sun outside the cave gave way to the moon. For the first time, Chi Yuyang felt that time had flown by so quickly.

When night fell, she thought of sleeping, yet sleepiness never really came.

In truth, it wasn’t just her imagination.

In her normal understanding, sunrise to sunset equaled half a day. But here, half a day wasn’t twelve hours—the orbit of this continent wasn’t exactly the same as Earth’s.

She also didn’t know that the wish she had silently prayed for in her heart was about to come true overnight.

Only when Chi Yuyang finally drifted into slumber did Hu Jin quietly open his eyes.

He had originally thought it would take two days to recover his original form. But earlier that afternoon, he had faintly sensed a surge of power welling up within his body.

Seizing the chance while Chi Yuyang was asleep, Hu Jin stealthily walked out of the cave.

Because of the nighttime chill, Chi Yuyang had kept a fire burning beside her while she slept.

Using the firelight, he could see that Hu Jin’s once small shadow was gradually expanding. By the time he stepped out of the cave, the tiny cub had already transformed into a full-grown beast.

The elegant white tiger shook his head, his nimble ears twitching slightly. The four black stripes on his back stood out even more clearly now, and under the moonlight, his flawless white fur gleamed with an extraordinary luster.

Afraid of waking the sleeping female inside the cave, Hu Jin only let out a soft “Awoo.” After all, he felt much more comfortable in this natural form.

Bathed in moonlight, Hu Jin dashed toward the depths of the forest—he had to bring back prey before his female woke up.

What woke Chi Yuyang was not the gentle morning sunlight, but a strong, pungent scent of blood.

“What’s that smell…” She rubbed her eyes, thinking it was her period leaking, and was about to get up to check.

But as soon as she opened her eyes, she saw… a bleeding deer?

“Awoo…” The next second, she heard the cry of a beast. Strangely enough, the sound felt oddly familiar.

She barely turned her head—only to be met with the sight of a massive creature.

Panic-stricken, Chi Yuyang instinctively retreated. When she finally focused her eyes and saw the true form of the beast before her, her legs began trembling uncontrollably.

Oh my god! This white tiger is huge!

In that instant, it felt like all the blood in her body rushed backward.

“Awoo… awoo…” The tiger was slowly advancing toward her, low growls rumbling in its throat.

When the white tiger was only a few steps away, she suddenly noticed something—the beast’s eyes… were heterochromatic.

No way…?

A bizarre thought flashed through Chi Yuyang’s mind, but she didn’t dare confirm it.

“Tuan… Tuan?” she called out tentatively.

The moment the white tiger heard Chi Yuyang’s voice, its steps quickened, and it pounced straight at her.

Caught off guard, Chi Yuyang was knocked down—but strangely, she wasn’t hurt at all.

The white tiger held her within its embrace, one paw gently stroking her hair.

This familiar gesture made Chi Yuyang’s already shocked mind spin into even greater chaos.

Was Tuantuan… smoothing her hair? Just like how she used to pet its fur?

“Tuantuan, is it really you?” Chi Yuyang asked again from within the tiger’s embrace.

“Awoo.” The white tiger lowered its head, bright eyes filled with affirmation.

“How did you suddenly… grow so big overnight?” Even though Tuantuan couldn’t speak, Chi Yuyang couldn’t help but ask.

It was as if Tuantuan had taken some kind of growth stimulant—leaping straight from cub to adulthood in a single night.

No, even a stimulant couldn’t do this. This wasn’t science, this was more like… magic. Just what kind of place was this, to breed a creature that could grow up overnight?

Chi Yuyang’s mind swirled with countless questions, but unfortunately, Tuantuan had no way to answer them.

Seeing that her expression showed more shock than fear, Hu Jin felt a strange joy rise within him. Reluctantly releasing his female from his embrace, he walked over to the deer.

He dragged the carcass to Chi Yuyang’s feet and flicked his long tail proudly, as if seeking praise.

“You… caught this?” Chi Yuyang froze. There was a clear bite wound on the deer’s neck—it must have been killed in a single strike.

Tuantuan eagerly nodded, then bit off a large chunk of flesh. But instead of swallowing it, he offered it to Chi Yuyang like a treasured gift.

Chi Yuyang’s head ached at the sight. She understood his intentions, but there was no way she could eat raw meat—especially when it was still dripping with blood.

But she didn’t want to dampen his good will. When her eyes fell on the extinguished campfire, an idea suddenly came to her.

“Tuantuan, wait a minute.” She walked around the white tiger to gather firewood.

The white tiger watched her every move in silence.

As the flames rekindled and flickered upward, Chi Yuyang still felt something was missing.

She picked up four similar-sized stones from the cave entrance. Two she set on either side of the fire.

Then she fetched the lotus leaves she had used to carry stream water, rinsed the deer meat in them to wash away the blood, and laid a clean leaf across the stones. She placed two more stones on top to hold it in place.

With everything ready, she finally set the deer meat over the fire to roast.

…Was this edible?

Watching her strange actions, Hu Jin was puzzled.

But ever since he had begun living with his female, he realized she often did things that seemed odd at first, yet somehow always led to delightful surprises.

The bloody stench in the air was soon replaced by the rich aroma of roasting meat. The once bright red flesh darkened to a charred shade of crimson.

“Smells so good.” Chi Yuyang couldn’t help but sigh. She hadn’t eaten meat in days, and now the scent was unbearably tempting.

Beside her, Tuantuan sat obediently, swallowing hard as his eyes locked on the roasting meat, silently pleading to taste it.

“Almost ready.” Chi Yuyang pulled the roasted venison off the fire and sprinkled salt over it—thankfully, she had bought some before coming here.

It was her first time cooking venison. She had no idea how to control the heat, and just hoped the taste wouldn’t be too terrible.

After finishing, she casually patted Tuantuan’s head. She had to admit—even though his body had grown enormous, his head was still just as satisfying to pet.

Tuantuan sniffed the venison and immediately opened his mouth.

But just as he was about to bite down, Chi Yuyang suddenly stopped him. “Wait a minute!”

She suddenly realized—the meat must still be burning hot. She quickly cupped the lotus leaf and blew on it a few times.

“It’s a little hot. Let me cool it down for you before you eat.”

The great white tiger blinked his large eyes, gazing intently at her gentle movements.

“All done!” Chi Yuyang finally held the venison up to Tuantuan’s mouth. In her mind, since this was his catch, he should have the first bite.

Seeing Tuantuan hurriedly bite down and his round eyes begin to shine, Chi Yuyang couldn’t help but smile in satisfaction.

Only then did Hu Jin remember his original intention. After taking just a single bite, he pushed the venison back toward her.

In the glow of the firelight, the scene of human and tiger together was unexpectedly tranquil.

Elsewhere, a sturdy tiger stopped deep within the forest. In the blink of an eye, the tiger transformed into a bare-armed, completely naked man.

“It’s Hu Jin’s scent—he’s not dead!”