TFBAT -Chapter 66

Chi Yuyang had only ever heard that most animals instinctively fear tigers.

For example, when they visited the Sheep Tribe, even though Hu Jin hadn’t done anything yet, the sheep-beastmen instinctively chose to avoid him.

As for a tiger’s instincts…

Territorial awareness? Born ruler? Or…

Before Chi Yuyang could figure it out, She Qing spoke again, “By the way, do you live in the Tiger Tribe’s territory?”

Chi Yuyang first nodded out of reflex, then realized they might return to the stone house.

She wasn’t certain how far the stone house was from the Tiger Tribe.

After leaving the Snake Tribe, they would first meet the tribe leader to resolve the Lion Tribe issue, so they were likely to stay in the Tiger Tribe for a while.

So she nodded again firmly.

Seeing this, She Qing thought for a moment before saying, “I’ve never been to the Tiger Tribe myself, but my father’s memories tell me that the current Tiger Tribe settlement is in the central forest area?”

Hearing this, Chi Yuyang couldn’t help thinking how convenient inherited memories were.

She Qing continued, speaking to herself, “However, a few years ago—during my grandfather’s generation—the central area still belonged to the Lion Tribe.”

Her grandfather’s generation?

Upon hearing this, Chi Yuyang suddenly recalled that when they first met, She Qing had said his grandfather was old friends with the tribe leader.

Did the tribe leader move the Tiger Tribe to the forest center after taking office?

When the term “Lion Tribe” was mentioned, the white tiger’s eyes darkened.

And when She Qing said the central forest area had once belonged to the Lion Tribe, Hu Jin also sensed something was off.

On this continent, most beastmen believed in the principle of “strength above all.”

If the Lion Tribe confronted the Tiger Tribe openly, he would volunteer to take the lead, but if the Lion Tribe played tricks behind the scenes, he wouldn’t hold back either.

…

After saying goodbye to She Qing, Chi Yuyang and Hu Jin returned along the path they came.

Even though they guessed there was a high probability the Fox Tribe wouldn’t still be in their previous den, they still went out of their way to check.

Sure enough, the den was empty.

Chi Yuyang saw the white tiger stop in place and asked, “Hu Jin, what’s wrong?”

Hu Jin drew three horizontal lines on the ground.

It was the character for “three.”

“Three?” Chi Yuyang was momentarily confused.

Did it mean three days?

“Hu Jin, do you mean the Fox Tribe beastmen left three days ago?” she asked.

Seeing Hu Jin nod, Chi Yuyang let out a long breath.

Three days ago—that was the first time they had met the Fox Tribe beastmen.

If that was the case…

The little fox and the tribe had staged a performance in front of them?

Chi Yuyang’s eyes caught the corner of the den. Besides the burnt-out firewood, there was a scattering of yellow fox fur.

It looked like the Fox Tribe beastmen had left in a hurry, without even erasing traces of their presence.

Were they not afraid of being discovered by the Lion Tribe? What exactly had happened between them?

“Hu Jin, when we were at the grassy slope that day, did you smell dead Fox Tribe beastmen?”

Chi Yuyang looked at the white tiger beside her, who was also staring in the direction of the corner.

Hearing his wife’s question, Hu Jin immediately turned his head.

“Awwooo!”

Chi Yuyang understood; that was a definite yes.

After a day together, plus her memories from shortly after crossing over, she had gradually learned the patterns of Hu Jin’s vocalizations.

A short, urgent “awwooo” indicated absolute certainty, a drawn-out “awwooo—” expressed urgency and need for her response, and a slow, prolonged “awwooooo…” meant he was explaining something.

What he was explaining, she could only understand once he returned to human form.

The problem was, the little fox had clearly hidden.

No… there was another way.

Thinking this, Chi Yuyang climbed back onto Hu Jin’s back.

“Hu Jin, let’s go see the tribe leader.”

Once they returned to the Tiger Tribe, with the leader present to “translate,” she could communicate with tiger-form Hu Jin.

—

On the way back, the pair passed the area of the fruit rain again.

The white tiger easily dodged a wave of poisonous fruit attacks.

As Hu Jin stopped at the other end, ready to check on his wife, he suddenly heard a scream from his back.

“Hu Jin, under your feet!”

The fruit’s poison, which should have melted into the soil, suddenly surged upward like a spring, splashing all over Hu Jin’s back with a gurgling sound.

It was incredibly fast, too fast for Hu Jin to think.

His body reacted faster than his mind. He rolled over quickly, wrapping his wife in his arms.

In that instant, Chi Yuyang was enveloped in tiger fur.

Hu Jin was massive in tiger form; just his belly alone could cover her.

Before, she had never truly felt the so-called “presence.”

But now, Chi Yuyang felt that Hu Jin’s presence was safety itself.

Even though she couldn’t touch or smell it, as long as he was by her side, she wouldn’t be harmed at all.

Of course, the little fox was an unexpected complication.

Hiding inside Hu Jin’s body, Chi Yuyang, unsure where to place her hands, touched the still-sore spot on her arm.

Hu Jin was even more concerned about the wound than she was.

The gurgling sound gradually subsided, and her racing heart began to calm.

But the body enveloping her still trembled slightly.

“Hu Jin?” she called softly.

Hu Jin finally released her from his embrace.

She quickly stood to check if he was injured.

His snow-white fur shimmered in the sunlight as if dusted with faint gold.

Clearly, the poison hadn’t left a trace.

Chi Yuyang remembered that before cocoa beans were discovered, the leader had said that no forest animals or plants could fatally harm the Tiger Tribe.

Moreover, Tiger Tribe beastmen had strong self-healing abilities.

So what was Hu Jin afraid of?

As Chi Yuyang watched Hu Jin, he was watching her too.

His round eyes blinked repeatedly.

In tiger form, those eyes were truly tiger eyes.

Previously, he occasionally displayed subtle human-like emotions, but so faintly that Chi Yuyang could not discern his true feelings.

The She Qing matter gave her an idea.

She could compare tiger-form Hu Jin to a cat.

When she first saw Hu Jin, she thought of a stray cat from the hospital she trained at: extremely alert, yet desperately craving warmth.

When someone fed it a bit of cat food, it would gladly approach them.

Later, a kind young lady took the stray cat home, and the next time it was seen, it radiated happiness in every glance.

Before the little fox incident, tiger-form Hu Jin’s gaze resembled that cat’s.

But since she was injured and he couldn’t return to human form, his eyes had grown heavy; the once crystal-clear heterochromatic eyes were now veiled in a thin mist.

Even during their trips to the Ape Tribe and Snow Mountain, his eyes had never shown such complex emotions.

The most frustrating part was that she still couldn’t fully read his thoughts.

“Hu Jin, I’m not hurt,” Chi Yuyang spun in front of the white tiger to prove she was fine.

Hu Jin’s gaze followed her movement, finally fixing on her arm.

The scratch left by the little fox felt like a fishbone, stuck painfully between them.

Chi Yuyang sighed, “Hu Jin, I’m not Tiger Tribe. Naturally, my recovery is slower.”

“Awwooooo…” But it’s too slow…

“Human bodies work like that,” she paused, “The mark you left on my neck took several days to fade, didn’t it?”

For some unknown reason, Hu Jin had a habit of biting like a dog when doing that thing, even as a tiger.

So after a session of lovemaking, marks would be left not only on her neck but also on other sensitive areas.

“Awwooo.” Hu Jin lowered his head.

Chi Yuyang smiled.

Normally, Hu Jin would temporarily drop the matter of her injury out of shyness.

But unexpectedly, the next second, he looked at her arm again.

“….” Chi Yuyang was at a loss.

If only he were in human form.

No! She had to ask—what was this silly tiger worrying about?!

Just as Chi Yuyang tried to communicate again, Hu Jin’s head suddenly turned.

Following his gaze, she saw sticky poison floating above the grass.

Unlike last time, it seemed the grass couldn’t absorb it.

Chi Yuyang saw Hu Jin’s nostrils twitch and suspected hidden beastmen nearby.

These fruits seemed to have their own consciousness, purposefully attacking them.

If no beastmen were controlling them, she couldn’t believe it.

But why were the attacks different last time when the little fox was present? Could it have been the little fox again?

Hu Jin was also searching for the Fox Tribe scent.

The fox scent was unique, even easier to distinguish than other beastmen.

Yet strangely, no beastman scent was in the air.

Hu Jin didn’t think his nose was faulty.

Moreover, the poison didn’t seem to target him—it targeted Chi Yuyang on his back.

If beastmen had attacked, they would know the poison couldn’t harm Tiger Tribe beastmen.

Hu Jin was puzzled but couldn’t tell her yet.

His previous actions were to protect his wife, yet she seemed unaware the poison targeted her.

Hu Jin shook his nearly useless ears.

Only the wind brushed his whiskers, reminding him he was still in tiger form.

As a juvenile, human form had only been a sign of adulthood.

Now, after meeting his wife, his desire to become human was stronger than ever.

—

Hu Jin returned to the Tiger Tribe before nightfall, to his den.

Although only a day and a half had passed since leaving the Lion Tribe, Chi Yuyang felt as if a century had passed.

Almost forgot—this continent had no such thing as a century.

Chi Yuyang looked around at the lush trees and brightly colored fruits, feeling a sudden sense of belonging.

The Lion Tribe’s area was too strange an ecosystem for a human.

Even the fruits—near the fox, lion, and snake tribes, there were no edible fruits.

On the way to find the “Xiaoxiao Fruit,” She Qing had told her that the forest fruits were divided into three types.

As Chi Yuyang knew, the forest was almost circular. On the left half grew mostly toxic fruits, nearly inedible.

On the right half grew mostly functional fruits, like the soap and tooth fruits she had used.

The central area, including the Tiger Tribe territory and the stone house, had highly edible fruits—the colorful fruits Hu Jin had collected.

She imagined that if she had landed elsewhere…

Not only would food scarcity be a problem, but dealing with the fox and lion tribes would be extremely difficult.

And the Snake Tribe…

She wasn’t furry; if she weren’t Hu Jin’s partner, She Qing wouldn’t have spoken to them.

And Hu Jin’s fur-covered body stared at her intensely.

After being set down, she was once again held in his embrace.

Inspired by the earlier poison fruit incident, Hu Jin leaned against the den wall, belly up, placing her on his abdomen.

No need for human form; he could still hold her.

With his wife in his arms, Hu Jin felt a sense of completeness.

Chi Yuyang wasn’t quite used to this posture.

Moreover, Hu Jin’s tiger form had no covering over certain areas.

She tried to avoid looking.

But the more she tried to ignore it, the more her gaze was drawn.

Just one glance!

She told herself she needed to overcome her own hesitations.

So she peeked cautiously.

“….”

“Awwooo?” Hu Jin noticed her glance.

He didn’t understand why she hesitated.

They had seen this countless times in human form.

Chi Yuyang couldn’t believe her eyes.

Hu Jin assumed the tiger fur blocked the view, so he used his paw to adjust it.

“….” Chi Yuyang almost turned to pull his ear.

But before she could, the object came straight into her view.

“Hu Jin, why not go to the tribe leader’s den?” she forced the topic change, trying to cover her flushed ears.

“Awwooo!” Hu Jin suddenly shifted, using his tail to point outside the den.

Pitch dark.

They had just returned and eaten dinner; night had fallen.

“Then we’ll visit the tribe leader tomorrow,” Chi Yuyang understood.

She thought Hu Jin meant the leader might have gone to rest, but it was also because she hadn’t slept enough last night that Hu Jin returned early to let her rest.

Her exhaustion was obvious in her eyes.

Hu Jin had noticed her sleep deprivation at the Snake Tribe had made her lethargic.

She, dizzy-headed, hadn’t realized the leader was nocturnal.

Hu Jin gently tapped her with his tail.

Soon, Chi Yuyang closed her eyes.

Before drifting to sleep, she thought, all her long-held worries had been unnecessary.

The tail she held felt exactly the same as in human form.

Of course, Hu Jin’s ears, tail, and eyes were identical in both forms.

Even the fur color differed only slightly.

So why did she think there would be a huge difference in that area?

Aside from a few extra spines, it was exactly the same!

Seeing her wife asleep with a smile, Hu Jin carefully kissed her forehead.

From this, his wife clearly liked his tiger form!

“Awwooo, awwooo!” Goodnight, wife!