TFBAT -Chapter 64

Tiger Tribe Territory.

Hu Zhuo was chatting with his younger brother Hu Yu in his cave.

Hu Yu said, “Aren’t you afraid of that bunch of snake tribe beastmen…”

At the mention of the snake tribe beastmen, Hu Yu’s voice gradually trailed off.

……

Chi Yuyang’s expertise mostly involved working with canines and felines.

Back in school, she had never had close contact with snakes, and during her internship, she had only been to a pet hospital.

Now, however, seeing the creature in front of her—with a human-like upper body but a massive snake lower body—Chi Yuyang instinctively grabbed the fur on the white tiger’s lower body. She wasn’t sure how to deal with a snake… tribe beastman.

They had encountered a snake along the way.

Its body color matched the tree trunk, so Chi Yuyang didn’t notice it at first.

By the time she reacted, the snake had shifted into humanoid form, blocking the white tiger’s path.

“Stop right there.”

Seeing the snake tribe beastman open its mouth and flick out a frightening snake tongue, Chi Yuyang, caught completely off guard, tightened her grip instinctively.

A few strands of white fur floated down from the white tiger immediately.

Hu Jin shivered slightly but remained silent.

He had so much fur that a few hairs being plucked by his mate wouldn’t matter.

However, the beastman in front of them stared intently at the white fur, which stood out starkly against the brown earth.

Chi Yuyang hesitated over whether to pick up the tiger fur from the ground when the snake tribe beastman finally spoke slowly, “This tiger has been restricted by the fox tribe.”

The snake tribe beastman spoke at a steady pace, neither fast nor slow, neither light nor heavy—hard to read any emotion.

His eyes, like those of a snake, had no movable eyelids, giving a chilling impression at first glance.

Chi Yuyang, perched atop Hu Jin, avoided his gaze and stepped down from the tiger’s back.

She tidied up the tiger fur. Before she could speak, the snake tribe beastman glanced at the fur in her hand. “Fur is indeed something that should be kept safe.”

As if sensing it might be inappropriate, he added, “Otherwise, the fox tribe could take advantage.”

Chi Yuyang moved her lips slightly, the first word forming on her tongue, but was interrupted again by the snake tribe beastman: “Tigers are unlike our snake tribe; they are born with fur, making them difficult for the fox tribe to control. I heard that the entire wolf tribe is under the fox tribe’s control. Truly unfortunate.”

“……”

Faced with this chattering snake tribe beastman, Chi Yuyang felt her worldview being refreshed once again.

Weren’t snakes supposed to be cold-blooded animals? How come this snake tribe beastman could talk so much?

“Oh, right, my name is She Qing.” After introducing himself, She Qing scrutinized Chi Yuyang and the white tiger beside her. “Snow tiger tribe and ape tribe beastmen… what an interesting combination.”

“I’m Chi, and this is Hu Jin.” Seeing that he greeted them, Chi Yuyang responded politely.

Noticing Hu Jin’s whiskers twitching as if he wanted to speak, she added, “Hu Jin has snow tiger genes, but he grew up in the forest. To be precise, he is a forest tiger tribe beastman.”

The white tiger beside her stared at her without blinking.

Chi Yuyang smiled, “He’s my partner.”

Before she finished speaking, Hu Jin flicked his tail in agreement.

“Forest tiger tribe?” She Qing searched his memory for a moment. “Oh… your tribe leader is Hu Zhuo, right? I know him well.”

Know him well?

Chi Yuyang looked at She Qing’s delicate features, her face showing suspicion.

This beastman didn’t appear much older than Hu Jin.

Upon hearing the leader’s name, the white tiger let out an excited “Awoo,” but paused slightly at the words “know him well.”

“No, no,” She Qing said awkwardly. “I meant my grandfather was acquainted with your tribe leader.”

He paused, then shifted the topic back to Hu Jin. “It must be uncomfortable to stay in beast form all the time. Though I’ve heard snow tigers can breed with other species while in beast form.”

Chi Yuyang finally recovered from the initial fright of seeing a snake tribe beastman, gradually getting used to the way his forked tongue flicked out with each word.

She remembered the purpose of their visit, while Hu Jin was subtly brushing her back with his tail.

Mate! Xiao Xiao Fruit!

Chi Yuyang turned her head, seemingly reading these five words in Hu Jin’s moist eyes.

If Hu Jin weren’t in beast form, she would have pinched his ears to make him behave.

But he was in beast form.

So She Qing watched helplessly as the female swiftly grabbed the white tiger’s tail and gently tapped his forehead.

Chi Yuyang asked, “Hu Jin, what do you want to say?”

“Awoo awooo!” Hu Jin responded excitedly.

Chi Yuyang sighed deeply, replying to She Qing’s earlier remark, “It is indeed troublesome for Hu Jin to remain in beast form, especially since I cannot understand the tiger language.”

“Awooo awooo!” (Mate, you didn’t say that yesterday!)

“So, we came to ask if the snake tribe, with its inherited memories, knows how to解除獸型?” Chi Yuyang asked calmly, while stroking the white tiger’s ears to soothe him.

Having learned from the little fox’s trickery, she couldn’t trust unfamiliar beastmen so easily, even if this snake tribe beastman seemed friendly.

Even a seemingly harmless little fox had hurt them before.

She Qing’s gaze remained fixed on Hu Jin. Watching the imposing white tiger, who gave a satisfied “Awoo” at the female’s touch, he frowned and pondered for a moment.

Chi Yuyang assumed he was searching for clues in his inherited memories.

After a long time, She Qing was still lost in thought.

So long that Chi Yuyang couldn’t help but remind him, “If you don’t know, we won’t trouble you…”

“No trouble, no trouble!” She Qing quickly responded. “My memories don’t contain this part, but maybe other snakes know.”

Snake tribe beastmen inherit memories from their ancestors, so the memories each receives differ.

Chi Yuyang paused while stroking Hu Jin.

She realized that She Qing had just accurately noticed Hu Jin couldn’t shift into human form, and correctly identified it as the fox tribe’s doing.

His words seemed contradictory at times.

“Why don’t you stay in our snake tribe for a night?” She Qing suggested.

He looked at Hu Jin again after speaking.

This made Chi Yuyang even more suspicious of his intentions.

“Is something wrong with Hu Jin?”

Since She Qing appeared, he had stared at Hu Jin at least ten times!

Like he had discovered a secret, She Qing’s pupils contracted sharply, and the stripes on his snake body quivered.

Chi Yuyang finally noticed the four black stripes on She Qing’s lower body.

Hu Jin was still in beast form; it was uncertain if it limited his power.

Sensing Chi Yuyang’s emotional shift, the white tiger’s fur fluffed up instantly, like dandelion seeds scattering.

“As expected of a rare species!” She Qing exclaimed in surprise. “Snow tiger fur is even fluffier than regular tigers!”

He cautiously extended his scaly tail toward Hu Jin.

Hu Jin instinctively stepped back to avoid the touch.

She Qing withdrew his tail, disappointed, his face full of dejection.

“……” Chi Yuyang was dumbfounded.

She had seen this scene somewhere before.

A friend of hers had been obsessed with fluffy things, though oddly, they loved small animals even more.

She remembered that friend complaining that the moment they approached, the small animals would flee.

Even worse…

She Qing made another move, swiftly reaching for Hu Jin’s head.

Hu Jin reflexively swatted She Qing’s hand away with his tail, then opened his mouth, intending to bite him.

“Hu Jin!” Chi Yuyang quickly patted his head, stopping him.

The scene was far too familiar.

She remembered her friend had been bitten by a dog in this exact way, ending up needing several hospital injections.

Though it wasn’t quite fair to compare Hu Jin to a small animal—and his refusal to be touched wasn’t because She Qing was annoying—it was clear: She Qing, like her friend, was a fur enthusiast.

Hu Jin’s whiskers bristled as he glared at She Qing in anger.

No one can touch his beast form except his mate!

Not even his mother or tribe leader! He’s an adult! A mated beastman!

What’s with this snake tribe beastman? Don’t they know this rule?!

“Awooo awooo…” (Wife, this snake tribe’s inherited memories are messed up!)

Hu Jin let out a series of awoos, and Chi Yuyang hugged his head, pressing a kiss on the “king” mark on his forehead.

“She Qing didn’t mean it.”

Her mate was defending another tribe’s beastman!

Hu Jin lowered his head, feeling wronged.

“After all, Hu Jin, your beast form feels better than other beastmen’s,” Chi Yuyang said, adjusting his head and looking into his round eyes. “She Qing must have noticed this too.”

She had once been a fur enthusiast but had stopped touching other animals after meeting Hu Jin.

Texture was one reason, and also…

Chi Yuyang saw her reflection in his round eyes.

This jealous Hu Jin had excellent memory and an extremely sensitive sense of smell.

She remembered once being given a cub to hold by accident, and Hu Jin, while she was distracted, kept asking if it was her favorite tiger.

He thought she didn’t notice, but she had clearly heard him mention the cub in the tribe leader’s cave.

That cub was male.

The tribe leader had said that beastmen didn’t care about age; once they reached adulthood, they could find a mate.

“Sorry.” Seeing Chi Yuyang defend him, She Qing felt more embarrassed. “Actually, I lied.”

His words broke her wandering thoughts.

“As far as I know, to restore human form, the restricting fox tribe beastman must it personally. No one else can do it.”

Hearing this, Chi Yuyang hesitated, then kissed the white tiger’s cheek.

“Hu Jin, take out the Xiao Xiao Fruit.”

“Awoo?” Hu Jin paused, then shook the precious fruit out from his tiger body.

Reluctantly, he handed the Xiao Xiao Fruit to Chi Yuyang.

She watched his actions closely, but didn’t see where Hu Jin had hidden the fruit.

…It was for him to use later anyway.

“This fruit…” She Qing looked at the odd-looking fruit in Chi Yuyang’s hand. “I think I’ve seen it somewhere.”

Chi Yuyang and Hu Jin waited expectantly for him to continue.

“I remember!” She Qing tapped his forehead. “The tribe leader asked me to gather some fruits for the tribe, and one of them looked just like this.”

He recalled the tribe leader’s instructions. “He mentioned that another tribe’s beastmen said a tiger collected various fruits in the forest, so I thought I’d pick some…”

Chi Yuyang froze.

That tiger sounded incredibly familiar.

Not only to exchange for rice with the sheep tribe, but also when they stayed with the ape tribe, she had Hu Jin collect many fruits.

As winter approached, she had collected and stored a pile of fruits in the stone house with Hu Jin.

“…Maybe we could trade some tiger fur with that tiger,” She Qing said, smiling awkwardly. “To be honest, due to the inherited memories, many of our snake tribe beastmen like collecting fur.”

Chi Yuyang and Hu Jin exchanged a glance.

She suddenly realized the tribe leader probably forbade Hu Jin from coming to the snake tribe to prevent these beastmen from plucking him bare.

A hairless snake tribe, yet a fur-obsessed species!

And Hu Jin felt a tickle in his nose.

—

Hu Zhuo stroked his chin, inscrutable. “Hu Jin, this little tiger cub, can’t even handle this little difficulty. How can he lead the tribe in the future?”

After speaking, he scanned the fruits in the corner of the cave, feeling a chill behind him.

The last time they picked fruits from the snake tribe, they gave away a lot of fur. Even in human form, he couldn’t forget the pain of losing fur back then.

Hu Zhuo cleared his throat, his voice a little uncertain. “Anyway, Hu Jin has never been afraid of pain since childhood.”