TFBAT -Chapter 70

Inside Hu Shu’s den.

“Xiao Chi, Xiao Chi?” Hu Shu nudged the person sitting in front of her.

She was sitting cross-legged on a animal hide, but her body leaned slightly toward the entrance of the den.

Chi Yuyang turned her head, a hint of apology in her expression. “Sorry, I was distracted just now… What did you say?”

Hu Shu pouted slightly, and her gaze shifted downward.

A tiny, irresistibly cute tiger cub stood right in front of her, signaling with its wide, bright eyes.

—“Want to be held.”

It was Hu Shu’s daughter, Hu Ya.

After some time apart, she had grown a little.

If you didn’t look closely, she was roughly the same size as Hu Jin when he was a cub.

Thinking this, Chi Yuyang reached out and picked up Hu Ya.

She had grown heavier since last time, and her fur was noticeably brighter.

Seeing the little tiger obediently lying in her arms, Chi Yuyang inexplicably recalled the times when Hu Jin had been shy and reluctant to be touched.

Back then, although he couldn’t move due to his injuries, he would make “ao ao” sounds to express his displeasure.

And when Hu Jin was in human form, he spoke even less.

After coaxing Hu Ya to sleep, Chi Yuyang returned her to her mother.

“Seems like Hu Ya really likes you.” Hu Shu placed the cub on another animal hide and sat back down.

Hearing the praise from the cub’s mother, Chi Yuyang smiled lightly.

She was completely different from She Qing—Chi Yuyang naturally attracted animals.

However, this skill hadn’t had much chance to show itself due to certain unavoidable circumstances.

“By the way, Hu Shu, there’s something I want to ask you.” Chi Yuyang changed the subject. “I heard from the clan leader that the Tiger Fight will happen soon?”

Hu Shu’s eyes lit up immediately.

“Yes! I’m so excited!” She paused, then shouted with excitement, “I bet Hu Jin will win again this year!”

Her certainty was as loud as her voice.

Chi Yuyang naturally had confidence in Hu Jin as well.

At the mention of his name, her gaze involuntarily flicked toward the entrance of the den.

But in just an instant, she looked away.

No human figure, not even a tiger’s roar, could be heard.

Each tiger’s territory was large; generally, they wouldn’t enter another’s land without reason, let alone step into someone’s den.

Hu Jin hadn’t come to fetch her yet.

Chi Yuyang sighed inwardly and continued the previous topic.

“As the winner of the Tiger Fight, is there any extra reward?”

Tigers were skilled hunters, so she doubted it would be food or similar items.

Yet she was curious about the clan leader and shaman’s stance—they clearly wanted Hu Jin to participate and win.

“Extra reward?” Hu Shu hesitated, amber eyes full of confusion. “As far as I know, besides the title of the strongest, I don’t think there’s any other reward…”

She paused for a moment before adding, “Actually, I’m not entirely sure. A few years ago, females could participate in the Tiger Fight, but in recent years, we females have gradually shifted from participants to spectators.”

“I see…” Chi Yuyang dragged out her words, pondering what to say next.

Ever talkative, Hu Shu continued for her.

“Ah, my tiger is only third-stage, I wonder if he can rank well in the Tiger Fight. His father’s father once came in second and bragged about it for decades.”

Bragged for decades?

Chi Yuyang thought that sounded a bit exaggerated.

In modern society, only first place is truly remembered; very few care about second place.

For some, second place is almost a failure.

“Not every tiger is as gifted as Hu Jin, reaching fourth stage as soon as they mature.”

Seeing the surprised look on Chi Yuyang’s face, Hu Shu exhaled slowly. “His father’s father reached fourth stage in middle age but still lost to the clan leader, who was not even ten years old at the time.”

“The clan leader was that year’s champion tiger,” Chi Yuyang concluded.

“Yes! Not only that, the clan leader also won again the next two years,” Hu Shu added.

Chi Yuyang’s eyelids twitched.

She seemed to catch a key word, but the thought vanished before it fully formed.

Just as Chi Yuyang was about to ask more, Hu Shu pinched her nose.

“Xiao Chi, your Hu Jin is here.” She smelled Hu Jin’s presence.

Along with it, a strong, pungent odor hit her nose.

Nothing was more important than Hu Jin’s arrival.

Suppressing other thoughts, Chi Yuyang stood up.

But her legs, numb from sitting too long, couldn’t support her.

Her body swayed.

Before Hu Shu could react, the figure behind caught her.

“Hu Jin?” she slowly turned.

“Ao wu!”

“Why are you still—” Chi Yuyang hadn’t finished speaking when the white tiger walked to the other side of the hide and took two animal hides from her bag.

Her bag always carried a few hides.

They were “clothes” for Hu Jin.

He only wore clothes in human form.

Chi Yuyang’s eyes lit up with joy at realizing this.

Still, she covered her eyes.

Hu Shu went to the side, picked up the just-awakened Hu Ya, and took her to the stream outside the den.

…

Chi Yuyang’s eyes were covered, but her ears weren’t.

She heard rustling.

Hu Jin usually didn’t take long to dress; why today did it take so long?

“Hu Jin, are you done dressing?” Chi Yuyang asked.

“Ao wu.”

Had she been mistaken? It was still the “ao wu” sound?

Chi Yuyang counted three silently, then lowered her hands.

Hu Jin’s clear, bright eyes stared at her without moving.

He paid no attention to the fact that he had only half-dressed.

The hides meant to cover his waist were in his hands, covering the crucial parts, but his well-toned waistline was exposed.

Not to mention his bare upper body.

Chi Yuyang quickly took the hides from Hu Jin and wrapped them around him.

As she neared his chest, he opened his arms and pulled her into his embrace.

She saw the desire in his eyes, barely restrained.

“Hu Jin…” Chi Yuyang murmured, “we’re still in Hu Shu’s den.”

Hu Jin said nothing, merely brushing lightly across her lips.

“Hu Jin, why aren’t you saying anything?” she frowned.

Since earlier, he had only made one “ao wu” sound.

Her heart raced, and it showed on her face.

Seeing this, Hu Jin spoke hurriedly.

His deep voice quivered slightly, as if he hadn’t yet adapted to human form.

“Wife.”

He had called her this many times before, yet Chi Yuyang felt no annoyance.

She tiptoed closer.

“Hu Jin, let’s go back first.”

…

When Chi Yuyang and Hu Jin left the den, they saw the waiting clan leader and the little fox.

The fox was held limply by the clan leader, head drooping.

The contrast was striking.

The girl in Hu Jin’s arms smiled brightly, while the fox, mostly stripped of fur, looked like a joke.

Seeing Chi Yuyang, Hu Ji glanced at her.

No emotion, only a lifeless stare.

The clan leader nodded at Hu Jin and left in another direction with the little fox.

After the clan leader left, Hu Shu came over with Hu Ya to say goodbye.

“Xiao Chi, see you tomorrow!”

Chi Yuyang waved at Hu Shu.

“The…tomorrow…” She paused, then changed her words. “I have something tomorrow, so I won’t go out. Let’s meet in a couple of days!”

“Okay!” Hu Shu nodded without asking further.

A curious tiger blinked.

“Wife, what do you have tomorrow?”

“….” Chi Yuyang couldn’t help but pinch Hu Jin’s arm lightly.

What could she have tomorrow? If he had stopped tonight, she wouldn’t have anything tomorrow!

“Nothing, I just don’t want to go out.” Chi Yuyang knew she couldn’t refuse Hu Jin, especially now that he had returned to human form.

Hu Jin’s eyes lit up. “Wife, then can we…”

—

Inside Hu Jin’s den.

“Hu Jin! Only at night!” Chi Yuyang rubbed the head brushing against her, speaking seriously. “Tell me about the little fox first.”

The ground in the den still had tufts of white fur; combined with the little fox’s appearance, she roughly guessed what had happened.

Hu Jin pursed his lips, then changed position to hold Chi Yuyang.

He rested his head on her shoulder. “Wife, the clan leader extracted a lot of information from that dead fox and told us to stay in the tribe for now.”

Both Hu Jin and Chi Yuyang had suspected the little fox might be tangled with the lion clan and guessed its gender might be used to control him, but they never imagined—

“You said that fox is already past middle age, not much younger than the clan leader?” Chi Yuyang’s eyes widened.

The clan leader was of the grandparent generation.

How could you call it a “young” fox…

A thin layer of cold sweat broke out over Chi Yuyang.

Not long ago, that fox had acted cute and weak, even knelt before them—but now she was old enough to be their grandmother.

“…Hu Jin, did you see that fox in human form?” Chi Yuyang asked.

Hu Jin replied, “I did.”

During the clan leader’s conversation with Hu Ji, she used human form.

Seeing Hu Jin’s composed expression, Chi Yuyang felt her question was foolish.

Even if fox clan members were stunning, so what?

Moreover, their advantage likely wasn’t beauty.

Hu Jin pulled Chi Yuyang closer.

“Wife, the clan leader suspects that besides my tiger fur, the fox clan might have your hair as well. And he’s unsure what ‘control’ actually is.”

Chi Yuyang froze.

Her hair? She was human, had no beast form.

But regarding the things in their possession…

Chi Yuyang swallowed. “Did the fox keep any of the Soothing Fruit?”

“I don’t know.” Hu Jin’s eyes darkened. “The dead fox refused to say what she kept. She told the clan leader to notify her people to bring what she has in exchange.”

Truly a fox clan leader, leaving a way out.

Becoming a clan leader, one was never weak.

But Hu Ji’s state…

Chi Yuyang smiled.

No matter how cunning a fox, it couldn’t win against a fierce tiger.