TFBAT -Chapter 56

“A soothing fruit.” Chi Yuyang finished the sentence for Hu Yu.

As she spoke, she caught sight of the little fox turning its gaze away.

Tsk. Pretending now? Yet when you were eavesdropping earlier, you didn’t seem guilty at all.

Hearing the familiar term, Hu Yu was momentarily stunned, then nodded.

The little fox beside them instinctively trembled. Without thinking, it darted behind Hu Yu to hide.

But it wasn’t faster than Hu Jin.

“Eavesdropping on us?” Hu Jin grabbed the little fox by the scruff with one hand and lifted it up.

He only used a little strength when he saw its pupils suddenly contract.

The little fox was in pain, but it didn’t make a sound.

Seeing this, Hu Jin released it.

Between pretending to be weak and pretending to be tough, he found the latter much more pleasing.

However…

Hu Jin lowered his gaze, his eyes reflecting Chi Yuyang.

Hu Yu said that after the chieftain undergoes adulthood again, their gender might change.

But Hu Jin could guess what this fox’s original gender had been. Since it had followed them here, it must have another agenda. Instead of letting it scheme behind their backs, he would rather keep it within sight.

At this moment, Chi Yuyang was thinking about Hu Yu’s earlier words: “The Snake Clan probably won’t help.”

She first heard of the Snake Clan in the chieftain’s lessons. The second time she indirectly dealt with them was when she and Hu Jin needed their help.

Even then, she hadn’t met them—her chieftain went on her behalf.

Back then, the chieftain said he had some friendship with the Snake Clan’s leader. Now it felt more like the chieftain suspected they would refuse the request.

Snakes… they didn’t sound like a warm or enthusiastic race.

As a human, Chi Yuyang always thought more than most.

She could feel Hu Jin’s stubborn determination about certain matters.

As for her—

Chi Yuyang lowered her head, looking at the little fox clinging to Hu Yu’s ankle.

A clan leader? A fourth-rank beastman?

That last beastman who challenged Hu Jin… his ending was pretty miserable, as she’d heard.

Chi Yuyang tilted her head and met Hu Jin’s eyes.

“How about we bring the little fox along?”
“Let the damned fox come.”

Hu Yu, who had watched the entire exchange, looked up at the cave ceiling and burped for no reason.

This couple… their united front was too strong. It caused extreme discomfort to this canine beastman.

…

Before leaving the temporary cave where the Fox Clan was staying, Hu Yu, on behalf of the chieftain and clan members, offered them a modest lunch.

“As for the little fox stealing your fruit, we’ll write that off.” Chi Yuyang whispered into Hu Jin’s ear.

She had long stopped caring about the stolen fruit. In a way, the Fox Clan’s tragedy had indeed affected her.

She sighed inwardly. In the end, she still viewed the little fox as a weak creature.

But she was also weak herself. Therefore, she would never try anything beyond her own capability.

“Wife.” Hu Jin noticed that her eyes kept wandering, not on him at all, and couldn’t resist teasing her.

A moment later, a tiger tail suddenly popped out from behind her.

This tiger was truly strong—even his tail had strength.

“Hu Jin.” Chi Yuyang quickly grabbed his tail, her eyes softening as she spoke. “I’ll make it up to you later. For now, can we go to the Snake Clan first?”

Hu Jin’s eyes widened, his mouth slightly open.

He immediately understood what she meant.

He only wanted to draw her attention back to him…

Sure enough, his wife treated him the best!

Chi Yuyang brushed her fingers over his small exposed tiger fangs, then smoothed down his folded tiger ears.

“Let’s go.”

—

Did the chieftain make a mistake?

Impossible.

When it came to teaching, the chieftain was extremely thorough. He would never draw a wrong map, nor misremember the Lion Clan’s territory.

Hu Jin recalled the map the chieftain had drawn a few days ago. According to it, the Lion Clan’s territory was much smaller than the Tigers’.

Although the Tigers lived as a tribe, almost all male tigers had their own personal territories. By logic, the communal Lion Clan shouldn’t be larger than them.

The only explanation was that the Lions had expanded far faster than the chieftain had expected.

Hu Jin slowed his steps.

Chi Yuyang looked back and saw that the paw prints in the soil had faded to almost nothing. She immediately realized how close they were to the Lion Clan’s territory.

The little fox grew restless.

The bamboo basket used to hold it earlier had already lost its shape, so now it was wrapped in beast hide.

They also hid the little fox this way to avoid catching the Lions’ attention.

“Little fox, stop moving!” Chi Yuyang couldn’t hold the squirming creature and spoke sharply.

Before leaving, Hu Yu had told her the Fox Clan chieftain’s name. The little fox was called Hu Ji.

But she was still used to calling it “little fox.”

“…Awoo!” The white tiger also warned the fox.

His aura alone could conceal the fox’s presence, but they were too close to the Lions. If the fox were exposed now, it might be spotted.

Their original plan was to avoid conflict and, if possible, bypass the Lion Clan territory entirely.

“Hu Jin?” Chi Yuyang whispered when he froze.

Hu Jin made his decision instantly and dashed back the way they came.

…

“Hu Jin, is something wrong?” Chi Yuyang asked as she sat in a cave Hu Jin had found. She looked up at the boy’s darkened expression.

“The Lion Clan’s territory is bigger than I thought.” Hu Jin sniffed again, making sure no recent scent belonged to living creatures.

“We can’t go around them?” Chi Yuyang frowned.

“No.” Hu Jin shook his head, expression growing heavier.

The little fox poked its head out of the hide, staring at him.

This tiger beastman rarely showed such a grave expression.

“Do they want to claim Tiger territory?” Chi Yuyang said, then immediately shook her head.

One-on-one, a lion couldn’t beat a tiger. Even a group of lions wouldn’t beat a group of tigers.

Even if the Wolf and Fox Clans had circumstances that defied logic, the Tiger Clan’s supremacy was a fact.

She hadn’t retracted her guess before Hu Jin responded.

“Mm.” Hu Jin nodded. “I think so.”

She suddenly recalled the Ape Clan incident.

“Are Lion beastmen very smart?” she asked.

The little fox shook its head frantically, and Hu Jin laughed. “If my three brothers didn’t have Lion blood, they wouldn’t have been controlled so easily by Yuan Wu.”

Chi Yuyang understood instantly.

The little fox looked lost, but silently noted the name Yuan Wu.

“However…” Hu Jin picked up a branch and redrew the map on the ground.

Chi Yuyang leaned closer, shifting her focus from his face to the map.

The rough drawing wasn’t much different from what she remembered. The Tiger, Snake, and Fox Clans were all in their original places.

The only difference was the Lion territory.

“How did the Lion Clan suddenly get so big?” Chi Yuyang stared. The distance between their boundary and the Tigers’ was now barely half a finger’s width.

Previously, there had been a palm’s width between them.

She didn’t doubt Hu Jin’s judgment.

The little fox also came closer to look—and then grinned.

“What are you laughing at?” Hu Jin shot it a dangerous look.

The little fox glanced again, then lowered its head.

Seeing this, Chi Yuyang inspected the drawing carefully.

And then she burst into laughter.

She had only been focused on the positions earlier, but now she realized another major difference between this map and the chieftain’s.

The chieftain used dots and explanations.

Hu Jin, however… needed no explanation.

She could understand the map at a glance, because Hu Jin’s drawing style was… very unique. His little tiger, lion, snake, and fox doodles were “vivid” in their own way.

The tiger was a round head with two round ears and a big crown-like “王” character.

The lion was another round head with wavy lines around it, like a wilted sunflower.

The fox was a tiny circle with two pointy ears and three little x-marks.

As for the snake—he drew a crescent with a line sticking out for the tongue.

Seeing her smile, Hu Jin hugged her and kissed her cheek.

“Hu Jin, your drawing is… pretty good…” Chi Yuyang was still laughing, and the more she tried to stop, the more she couldn’t.

Since she had met Hu Jin, he had never shown a real weakness. Even his learning ability was abnormally strong.

But this drawing…

Chi Yuyang covered her mouth, trying not to laugh out loud.

“Hahaha—!” She failed completely.

With that laugh, she swept away the gloom she’d been carrying these past few days.

When she finally calmed down, she collapsed weakly onto Hu Jin.

Hu Jin held her tighter, glancing proudly at his “masterpiece,” the corners of his lips lifting as his bright eyes curved.

His tail swayed behind him, sketching her shape in the air.

If this were drawn on the ground, Chi Yuyang would definitely marvel again at his “artwork.”

Just from another… angle.

But seeing his wife so happy, Hu Jin’s tail stilled, then slowly moved forward—curling gently around her waist.

The little fox happened to lift its head to stretch—

…damned fox.

Hu Jin’s killing intent rose subconsciously.

“Awoo…”

“Awoo!”

Suddenly, a roar outside the cave drowned out the little fox’s cry.

The Lion Clan?

All three of them—tiger, human, and fox—had the same thought instantly.

Damn Lions!