TFBAT -Chapter 67

The pitter-patter of spring rain outside the cave woke Chi Yuyang.

She rubbed her sleepy eyes and saw Hu Jin lying motionless by the fire.

The white tiger faced away from her, water droplets slowly sliding down his fur, forming several small puddles on the ground.

Hearing a sound behind him, Hu Jin turned his head.

At that moment, a breeze blew in from the cave entrance, and Chi Yuyang shivered instinctively in her thin clothing.

Hu Jin immediately got up and walked toward her but stopped a few steps away.

His fur was still damp, unable to keep his wife warm, and might even bring more cold.

If only he could turn into his human form.

Hu Jin’s eyes darkened as he forced down the irritation brewing in his heart.

Seizing the opportunity, Chi Yuyang had already grabbed a warm animal pelt and draped it over her shoulders.

Ever since she mentioned that the pelts were useful, Hu Jin would save them every time he went hunting.

Being a skilled hunter, he had accumulated plenty of pelts in the cave.

Even though she had said before that they were enough, Hu Jin habitually kept saving them.

In some matters, Hu Jin was stubbornly persistent.

Right now, for example, Chi Yuyang slowly approached him with the pelt.

The white tiger, on high alert, quickly backed away. He circled the fire and finally lay down opposite her.

“Hu Jin, your fur is almost dry.” Chi Yuyang sighed, looking at the stubborn white tiger who wouldn’t let her get close.

If Hu Jin were in human form now, she wouldn’t have to worry about the fur drying.

Tracing back, Hu Jin’s reaction stemmed from a time when she had caught a cold after being caught in the rain.

The next morning, she woke up paler than usual, her voice hoarse.

Seeing this after returning from hunting, Hu Jin had been genuinely startled.

It was all because she had muttered in a hoarse voice that it was due to the rain, imprinting in Hu Jin’s subconscious the idea that “rain could harm his wife.”

Strangely, having come to this ancient era and endured such harsh conditions, Chi Yuyang thought her constitution would have strengthened.

Yet even a simple rain could make her collapse.

Chi Yuyang glanced at the white tiger beside her.

Perhaps being taken care of by a certain tiger had inadvertently weakened her resilience.

He had always taken care of her so well that she didn’t feel this place was inferior to modern society.

Apart from the limited variety of food and somewhat monotonous entertainment, there didn’t seem to be any major drawbacks here.

As she thought of food, Chi Yuyang noticed the meat at Hu Jin’s feet and…

“Hu Jin, you actually went to the Ape Tribe?” Chi Yuyang exclaimed.

On the ground lay a large bundle of green plants and a few chickens with crooked necks.

These were specialties from the mountains behind the Ape Tribe village.

Hu Jin had gone there while she was asleep!

She suddenly remembered that before visiting the Fox Tribe, she had mentioned wanting to go to the Ape Tribe mountains upon returning.

For a moment, she didn’t know what to say.

Hu Jin…

truly remembered every word she had said.

“Next time, take me with you.” Chi Yuyang moved next to Hu Jin, burying her head in his chest fur.

The just-dried fur carried a faint warmth from the fire, and the warmth belonging to this tiger.

“Roar!” Once Hu Jin confirmed his fur was dry, he embraced his wife.

In fact, this time when he went to the Ape Tribe, he also checked on Yuan Wu.

What had happened with the Lion Tribe and Fox Tribe seemed to be Yuan Wu’s doing.

Though Hu Jin was confident in his own strength, believing Yuan Wu couldn’t have fully recovered in such a short time, he still went to the Ape Tribe just in case.

As expected, Yuan Wu was indeed still recuperating.

“Hu Jin, when you passed the Ape Tribe, did you see their chief?” Chi Yuyang asked, suspecting Yuan Wu as well.

“Roar!” Hu Jin nodded.

Then he wrote “No” on the ground.

“You didn’t see him?” Chi Yuyang froze.

Hu Jin paused, shook his head quickly, unsure how to convey the rest.

Perhaps Yuan Wu hadn’t acted directly but merely provided methods to another tribe.

But Yuan Wu had not been chief for long, and the Lion Tribe’s actions weren’t something that could be accomplished in just a few months.

He wanted to consult his wife’s opinion, but clearly she couldn’t understand his roars.

Chi Yuyang realized he had something to say but stopped short.

They were silent together.

The rain outside the cave continued without pause.

“Let’s wait until we meet the chief to discuss it.” Chi Yuyang blew on the meat in her hand and then offered it to Hu Jin.

Given the rain, Hu Jin wouldn’t take her outside.

There was no rush for one human and one tiger to wait for it to stop.

“It feels like it’s been ages since we had such a relaxed meal.” She wiped the grease from his whiskers.

Thinking carefully, the last carefree time Hu Jin had maintained beast form was also during a rainstorm.

Later, on another rainy day, he suddenly shifted to human form in front of her.

Chi Yuyang chuckled at the memory.

The rain gradually lessened.

Seeing the white tiger’s surprised gaze, she reached out and hugged his head.

“Hu Jin, your beast form is great, but I still prefer your human form.”

Once back at the tribe, the chief could help with communication, but more than language stood between them.

With time, Chi Yuyang decided to say everything at once.

At the same time, she wanted to confirm something.

The tiger that could only respond with “roar” made a good listener.

“When you’re in human form, I can not only read your emotions through your eyes and actions, but also discern them in your words.”

Even if Hu Jin usually didn’t speak much.

As she finished, a beam of sunlight shone in, illuminating his face and glinting eyes.

“Now, even though I can see your struggle in your eyes, without your words, I can’t accurately guess what you’re thinking.”

“Roar!” Hu Jin slightly lifted his gaze, locking eyes with Chi Yuyang.

He was saying that he wanted to return to human form.

She felt his ears twitch, but the fur in her hands remained unchanged.

She was still holding tiger fur, not solid muscles.

Looking into the dangerous yet mesmerizing beast eyes, Chi Yuyang sighed heavily.

After staring for a while, she almost forgot Hu Jin was a predator.

In front of her, he seemed more like a giant cat than a tiger.

Before Hu Jin could shift back, she had considered letting him remain in beast form for a while to get used to it.

Thus, she thought this struggle was her own inner demon.

If it were, it was likely Yuan Wu’s doing.

But it wasn’t.

She had already accepted Hu Jin’s beast form; just last night, her last mental barrier had fallen.

From Hu Jin’s recent roars, she also heard his desperate desire to return to human form.

Yet he still couldn’t transform.

Could it really be, as Snake Qing said, that only the little fox could lift the restriction?

The little fox couldn’t hide from them forever.

If it were to carry out its secret purpose, it would inevitably come to find Hu Jin.

If so, the next time they meet, it would be “her.”