Chapter 213: Little Tiger’s Roar in the Beast World – 2

In just one night, Xie Hui became familiar with all the habits of the Original Host. When he was awakened, he instinctively tried to get up.

As soon as he opened his eyes, the Little Tiger that had been lying on his head fell to the ground with a pitiful yelp.

Xie Hui looked down to see Sheng lying on the ground, his four paws flailing helplessly in the air. Noticing his father watching him, Sheng whimpered as if complaining.

Xie Hui used his head to help Sheng stand up. Once on his feet, Sheng shook his fur contentedly in the sunlight, stretching his paws wide in comfort.

In the beastmen tribe, although they could transform into humans upon reaching adulthood, they preferred to remain in their animal forms due to spending the first twelve years of their lives as beasts.

Every beastman cub had a special symbol drawn on their wrist by the Priest¹, distinguishing them from ordinary animals.

Later, when Sheng met Xue, she was afraid of animal forms, so his partner gradually got used to appearing in human form.

The Client always believed that Sheng, who could capture the strongest prey and earn the highest honors, was favored by the Beast God. He yearned for freedom and strength.

Felines naturally clean themselves by licking their fur. Many elderly beastmen in the tribe would sunbathe and groom themselves when the weather was warm.

In front of Xue, Sheng suppressed his instincts and cleaned himself with water, as her deemed licking unsanitary.

These trivial matters, when accumulated, made Xie Hui feel a bit sorry for his child.

“Tribe Leader, are you going hunting?”

The voice from outside interrupted Xie Hui’s thoughts. He found the meat he had set aside the previous night.

“Give me a moment, I’ll be right there.”

Meanwhile, Sheng was chasing his tail in circles, playing with his shadow in the sunlight. The faster he ran, the harder it was to catch, until he saw his father start eating and finally stopped.

He ran over to retrieve the meat he had hidden the day before, bringing it to his father’s side to eat together.

As he ate, his tail wagged joyfully, occasionally hitting Xie Hui.

Xie Hui glanced at the particularly lively little bundle and used his own tail to hold him down.

Surprised that his tail couldn’t move, Sheng curiously lifted his head, ears perked straight up.

He turned to stare at the big tail pinning his little one down, pawing the ground in grievance before burying his head back in the meat.

Xie Hui tossed a tender piece of meat in front of Sheng and growled softly at him.

“Roar.”

Sheng nodded, then escorted Xie Hui to the cave entrance.

After walking a short distance, Xie Hui turned to see the Little Tiger still standing at the entrance, calling out to him.

“Roar.”

“Roar~”

Hearing the young echo behind him, Xie Hui quickly ran to the meeting place from the Client’s memory.

In the tribe, apart from the females, elderly beastmen, and cubs, the other beastmen were split into two groups: one for hunting and the other for guarding the tribe.

When Xie Hui arrived, many beastmen were already waiting, and they set off together outside the tribe.

The Client’s thick paw pads made walking on gravel unnoticeable. Once in the forest, they instinctively lightened their steps.

On a nearby plain, several wild deer grazed with heads down. The sun was warm, and the wind rustled the grass. Xie Hui glanced at the other beastmen.

In the next moment, several beastmen charged from their concealed positions.

Some beastmen blocked the deer’s escape routes. Xie Hui, leading the charge, lunged and bit a deer’s neck, its hooves flailing helplessly in its final struggle.

On that plain, they killed three of the five grazing deer. The exhausted beastmen lay panting.

Xie Hui licked his blood-stained paws. The primal hunt seemed to awaken a restless energy within him, leaving him exhilarated even after the hunt.

The three deer were carried by the less robust beastmen. Though large, they were insufficient for the nearly one hundred beastmen in the tribe.

After walking a while, they spotted a very large and sturdy buffalo on another plain.

When Luo, a beastman from the tribe, saw the buffalo, his eyes lit up eagerly. But recalling reality, he lowered his head in resignation.

Though there were nearly twenty beastmen hunting, taking down such a large buffalo was still challenging.

This type of buffalo had extremely hard horns capable of easily piercing their bellies, and its limbs were very powerful.

In this season, they needed enough prey to endure the harsh winter. Any injured member meant losing a strong fighter, which was not worth the risk.

Xie Hui watched the grazing buffalo for a while, then turned to Luo beside him. Luo, who often fought alongside the Tribe Leader, understood his intent but hesitated to speak, fearing to alert the buffalo.

In that brief moment, Xie Hui had already charged forward.

Ninety percent of animals have their fatal weakness in their vulnerable necks, and buffaloes are no exception. The large horns atop its head were its weapon, but in some situations, they could become a burden.

Xie Hui carefully avoided the buffalo’s horns that could pierce his flesh. His sharp fangs tore into the buffalo’s neck, causing blood to gush out. The pain drove the buffalo into a frenzy, kicking up a cloud of dust.

No matter how cautious Xie Hui was, he couldn’t avoid being kicked a couple of times. He held onto the buffalo’s neck tightly, letting it struggle until it exhausted all its strength.

Once the buffalo lay on the ground, other beastmen from the tribe rushed over to help, firmly pinning down the buffalo that had gone berserk again.

When the buffalo finally lost its breath, they couldn’t help but gather together and cheer. The roars of the beasts sent the birds perched in the trees flying away.

With three wild deer and a buffalo, Xie Hui still wasn’t satisfied. Unfortunately, he couldn’t find any more prey, and they disdained to hunt anything too small.

Calculating the time in his mind, he realized it was about time to head back. He let out a roar to summon the other beastmen to return to the tribe.

Dragging their prey back, they unexpectedly encountered two wild boars on the way. The young beastmen, who hadn’t had a chance to join the hunt, charged forward without waiting for the Tribe Leader’s command.

Upon returning to the tribe, Xie Hui went straight to his cave. Most of the beastmen in the tribe didn’t care much about privacy, but he still felt uneasy about it.

After tidying up, he stepped out, intending to check on Sheng. However, after searching around, he couldn’t find him.

Just as he reached the place where they divided the meat, he saw several cubs greedily licking the blood from the wounds of the prey. Among them, a yellow-furred Little Tiger looked particularly familiar.

The tribe’s rule was that no one could touch the prey before the Tribe Leader divided the meat, except for the cubs.

They believed that being able to eat and fight was a sign of a cub’s strength.

Every time they brought prey back to the tribe, they indulged the little beastmen who pounced on them eagerly.

Xie Hui picked up a very sharp stone, cut off a few pieces of meat, and tossed them to the cubs. As they carried the meat away to gnaw on, he began processing the prey.

After dividing the meat, he carried his piece over to Sheng and handed him his share.

Xie Hui initially just wanted to tease him, but to his surprise, Sheng could actually drag the piece of meat larger than himself. His teeth clamped tightly, and his chubby body tensed as he struggled to drag it toward the cave.

Many passing beastmen saw his earnest effort and laughed good-naturedly.

Xie Hui followed behind him with his own piece of meat. When he saw Sheng sit down halfway, panting heavily, he helped him by picking it up and used his tail to lift the tired Little Tiger onto his back.

As soon as they entered their cave, the Little Tiger eagerly jumped down and pounced on the large piece of meat.

Tomorrow, Xie Hui wouldn’t need to hunt, so they would have less meat. Nonetheless, he habitually gave the tenderest part to Sheng.

During their cub years, most animals are quite mischievous, and the Little Tiger was no exception. During the day, he ran around wildly, returning covered in dust.

The weather was still a bit hot, and the meat could only be stored in the cave for one night before it spoiled. That day, Xie Hui left only a small portion for Sheng to eat the next morning.

After dinner, seeing the Little Tiger lying there wanting to sleep but too hot to do so, Xie Hui stood up.

The Little Tiger, lying down, also got up and shook his fur after Xie Hui stood.

“Roar.”

“Aw~”

Xie Hui took Sheng out to a small river not far from the tribe. There, they saw many beastmen with their lower bodies submerged in the water, only their heads sticking out.

Seeing the water, the Little Tiger, who had been happily following his father, hesitated and instinctively took a step back.

The next second, Xie Hui used his tail to sweep him into the water.

Initially wanting to swim away, the Little Tiger felt the coolness of the water and immediately stopped moving. After enjoying it for a while, he lifted his chin and paddled around his father with his four little paws.

Lying in the water to cool down, Xie Hui squinted at the bright moon hanging in the sky. When the Little Tiger didn’t get a response from his father, he splashed some water onto his father’s face with his tail.

Xie Hui opened his eyes, bothered by the splash, and growled softly at the mischievous Little Tiger.

Having traveled so far during the day and expending energy while hunting, he was tired and just wanted to rest.

After being scolded, the Little Tiger whimpered softly and, looking down, noticed the small fish in the water. Instinctively, he reached out with his paw to catch them.

His quick movements allowed him to touch a fish, but before he could celebrate, it swam away. Frustrated, he slapped the water’s surface and, listening to the insects nearby, mimicked his father’s laziness and stopped moving.

Translator’s Notes