TFBAT -Chapter 59

Chi Yuyang lay lazily on Hu Jin’s back as he carried her to the creek to wash up.

“Wife.”

From the upward lilt in Hu Jin’s tone, Chi Yuyang could tell he was in an especially good mood.

“My instincts tell me the lion tribe is a little strange.”

Chi Yuyang tightened her arms around his neck and hummed for him to continue.

“I’ve never been to the lion tribe before.” Hu Jin confirmed there were no other beastmen nearby before putting her down. “Last night, I walked around the area. The central zone is full of pregnant female beastmen, but aside from that, nothing looked abnormal.”

As he spoke, he continued wiping her down, and gradually, his voice grew husky.

“Wife, could we maybe…”

“No.” Chi Yuyang rejected him without hesitation.

She didn’t even remember when exactly she fell asleep last night—only that when she woke up, a brand-new day had arrived.

If they did it again, she would probably sleep for another entire day and night.

Fortunately, once she said no, Hu Jin never pushed her.

Ignoring his longing gaze, she put her clothes back on.

When she turned around, Hu Jin was still frozen in place, maintaining the wiping posture.

Chi Yuyang’s heart softened instantly. She sighed, bent down, and kissed his cheek.

At the same time, she heard him whisper, “…why won’t you wipe me too?”

“…”

Chi Yuyang was speechless.

Not because she misunderstood anything—she knew exactly what Hu Jin meant. After all, this was exactly how his desire got ignited yesterday.

She still couldn’t keep up with his thought process sometimes, but she had already learned this tiger’s tricks—

And the worst part was, she fell for them every time.

Chi Yuyang sighed again and gently coaxed him, “Hu Jin, hold back for a little while, okay? We’ll do it once we’re back in the tiger tribe.”

“Beast form or human form—you can choose,” she added.

At that, she saw stars glittering in Hu Jin’s eyes.

Hu Jin was really easy to appease.

Chi Yuyang looked away quickly.

“Hu Jin, you said the lion tribe treats females and males differently?”

“Yes.” Hu Jin nodded. “The previous lion chiefs were all male…”

He was about to continue when a series of lion roars echoed in the distance—

From the direction of the lion chief’s cave.

Chi Yuyang and Hu Jin exchanged a look. He promptly shifted back into beast form.

…

On their way to the lion chief’s cave, they ran into Shi Bai.

“Good morning.” Shi Bai greeted them politely, wearing a flattering smile.

He was the one who brought Shi Mie to the shaman yesterday.

After hearing the shaman’s diagnosis, he was even more certain that Hu Jin was not someone to provoke.

The visible wounds were one thing—Shi Mie’s internal injuries were even worse.

Shi Bai had also carefully thought through why Hu Jin had struck so ruthlessly.

He concluded that Shi Mie simply deserved it.

Shi Mie wasn’t even from the same generation as him.

Young lions tended to overestimate themselves. They thought that reaching the fourth tier meant reaching the peak of strength, forgetting that huge gaps still existed even among beastmen of the same rank.

Looking at the dangerous aura coming off the tiger before him, Shi Bai thought. The only thing separating Hu Jin from a fifth-tier beastman is a lightning tribulation.

“Hu Jin, I heard you failed your tribulation?” Shi Bai asked with exaggerated pity.

Chi Yuyang didn’t believe for a second that he was genuinely concerned.

His tone was annoying—almost like poking someone’s sore spot on purpose.

Hu Jin looked at him oddly. “How did you know I attempted a tribulation?”

Even within the tiger tribe, very few knew he had tried.

Shi Bai immediately realized he’d said something he shouldn’t have and coughed, trying to come up with an excuse.

Chi Yuyang smoothly supplied one for him.

“Was it Hu Jin’s brothers who told you? Our chief said they’re in the lion tribe now?”

Shi Bai nodded hastily.

“It’s strange though—Hu Yi and the others have been here a long while and don’t seem eager to return. Did something happen between you and your brothers?”

Upon hearing that, Chi Yuyang poked Hu Jin’s tail.

Hu Jin’s expression immediately turned sad.

He lowered his head and stayed silent.

Shi Bai turned his questioning eyes to Chi Yuyang.

Chi Yuyang answered, “To tell you the truth, their mother wants to get back together with Hu Jin’s father. Hu Yi and the others can’t accept it.”

Tiger Man did indeed dissolve her bond with their father before going to Snow Mountain.

But that wasn’t the real source of their conflict.

Chi Yuyang merely twisted the timeline a little.

“They blame Hu Jin for stealing their mother’s attention. In anger, they left the tiger tribe.”

In reality, the only tiger who hadn’t received their mother’s care all these years was Hu Jin.

Chi Yuyang flipped the story deliberately—to test whose idea it was for Hu Yi and his brothers to betray Hu Jin.

Shi Bai suddenly looked enlightened.

“No wonder. That’s pretty normal. In our lion tribe, changing partners happens often—usually initiated by males. Cubs follow their mother, so it’s normal for those with lion blood to cling to their mother.”

Speaking of cultural differences, he shook his head. “So really, your tiger tribe should learn from us lions. Males should hold the initiative. Your tiger tribe—”

Hu Jin raised a brow and slowly lifted his head.

How the tiger tribe operated was not for outsiders to judge.

Especially since the current tiger tribe was built by his chief’s own hands.

He wouldn’t allow anyone to demean it.

Hu Jin’s cold glare shut Shi Bai up instantly.

Chi Yuyang squeezed Hu Jin’s hand, warning him not to get worked up.

Shi Bai clearly had no idea about Hu Yi’s dirty deeds.

He was simply a straightforward male chauvinist.

And they still needed more information about the lion tribe.

Although Hu Jin disliked the lions—and many lions had clashed with him—the two tribes still maintained a relatively peaceful relationship.

So as guests, Shi Bai naturally answered his questions.

Hu Jin lowered his gaze and asked, “That roar just now—what was it?”

Shi Bai didn’t dare look at him directly but still kept talking nonstop. “A female just gave birth successfully.”

“All pregnant females live near the chief’s cave so she can assist with delivery.”

The chief helps deliver?

Chi Yuyang’s thoughts drifted.

If she got pregnant in the future, would it be the chief or the shaman delivering the cub?

Maybe it was because the lion chief was female?

Then who delivered tiger cubs?

How had she never asked Hu Shu something so important?

“Wife.” Hu Jin called softly when he saw her zoning out.

Lately, she seemed constantly distracted, lost in thought.

Chi Yuyang turned and saw her reflection in Hu Jin’s clear, pure eyes.

She opened her mouth but couldn’t bring herself to ask about childbirth.

Hu Jin looked even less experienced than she was. And this really wasn’t the time.

Chi Yuyang steadied herself and smiled.

“Hu Jin, didn’t you say you wanted to see the lion chief?

If she’s busy, can you ask someone else to send our message?”

Hu Jin blinked, quickly catching on.

“Shi Bai, could I trouble you to ask your chief whether Shi Xiu is free soon? We fought before and never settled the outcome.”

Shi Bai agreed immediately.

At first he thought Hu Jin was using that as an excuse, but it turned out he really meant it.

“I asked yesterday. The chief said Shi Xiu went out hunting and should be back this morning.”

Male lions hunt?

Chi Yuyang noticed yet another difference between beastmen and real animals.

In real lion prides, it was usually the females who hunted.

It seemed she couldn’t rely on her old-world animal knowledge anymore.

This was also why she left the tiger tribe—she wanted to see the world herself.

“By the way, Shi Bai, have you seen Hu Yi and the others?” Hu Jin asked.

Shi Bai shook his head.

“I only heard things from other lions who heard them from Hu Yi. As for where they stay, I’m not sure.”

So it was information passed through multiple mouths.

Chi Yuyang frowned.

She hadn’t even met Hu Yi and his brothers yet, but her impression of them had already plummeted.

Same mother, same species, yet they went around leaking Hu Jin’s personal matters? She strongly suspected they had willingly provided clues to Yuan Wu before.

“Then my wife and I will wander around nearby. Maybe we’ll run into Shi Xiu returning.”
Hu Jin made it sound like he was asking permission, but it was really just a formality.

Shi Bai nodded without doubt. “Sure. I have something to do anyway, so I won’t guide you.”

Tiger beastmen didn’t get lost easily, so he wasn’t worried.

More importantly, he had more cub-making to do.

—

Hu Jin and Chi Yuyang strolled hand-in-hand through the lion tribe’s central area.

Back home, the tiger chief’s cave was surrounded by rare fruits and towering ancient trees.

Even in winter, many plants still stubbornly grew.

But here—even though it was spring—Chi Yuyang saw only a few bare trees and a field of dry grass.

Maybe because of Shi Mie’s beating yesterday, most lions merely nodded politely or ignored them.

Hardly anyone acted like Shi Mie, rushing up to pick a fight.

At first, Chi Yuyang thought it was because lions generally lacked confidence in one-on-one fights.

After all, in the tiger tribe, even knowing they would lose, many tigers still insisted on challenging Hu Jin.

Until suddenly—a lion’s roar split the air.

Chi Yuyang instinctively dove into Hu Jin’s arms.

“Is that the one called Shi Xiu?” she asked, staring at the lion approaching them step by step.

Judging from his mane, he was a male.

“No.” Hu Jin eyed the lion lazily “As the strongest lion in the tribe, Shi Xiu wouldn’t do something this stupid and underhanded.”

He pulled Chi Yuyang behind him.

“Wife, I think we’re a bit too far from the chief’s cave.”

Chi Yuyang looked up—and saw several more lions closing in.

Their tawny coats blended almost perfectly with the dry grass, which was why she hadn’t noticed them earlier.

“So many!” She counted quickly—her fingers almost weren’t enough.

Every lion’s eyes glowed with a chilling, eerie light.

“Wife, get farther back.”

The moment he finished speaking, Hu Jin’s ears twitched.