Chapter 220: Little Tiger’s Roar in the Beast World – 9

As Little Tiger grew, he became increasingly mischievous, spending his days picking fights with the young beastmen in the tribe.

Xie Hui occasionally felt relieved that his Little Tiger was wise enough not to provoke the adult beastmen he couldn’t defeat.

In this forest, there were four tribes in total, and they had a good relationship with each other.

Besides their own Heaven Tribe, which was made up of tigers, lions, and leopards, there was also a herbivore tribe. The other two tribes consisted of flying beastmen and those primarily made up of snakes.

According to the client’s memories, long ago, these beastmen lived together. However, they discovered that when different kinds of beastmen mated, their offspring often had poor health and returned to the embrace of the Beast God at a young age.

After many years, they learned from experience and divided the forest into four tribes, based on the criteria that the offspring would not leave early.

One day, when Xie Hui returned from hunting, some beastmen greeted him and mentioned that the newly adult beastmen of the Heaven Tribe had taken the young ones for a walk in the forest.

These beastmen were quite strong, allowing the young ones to adapt to the forest environment in advance.

They had previously tried protecting the young ones by not exposing them to any external dangers. However, in reality, fewer young ones grew up safely that way.

When they reached a certain age and their energy was too abundant, the beastmen would take them out for walks.

This winter wasn’t as cold as the last, so occasionally, beastmen would go out hunting to bring back fresh food for the young or elderly beastmen.

Xie Hui didn’t take Sheng out with him. That Little Tiger sulked in a corner, tail tucked, throwing a tantrum. Before Xie Hui even left, Sheng had already run off to play next door.

Unexpectedly, Sheng was taken out for a round of fun by other beastmen.

“The Priest asked us to trade some items with the neighboring Sky Tribe, and Sheng got into a fight with one of their young ones.”

“Well… although Sheng is still small, he will definitely become the mightiest warrior in our tribe when he grows up!”

“He won the fight and even claimed a trophy!”

In the normal world, if a child got into a fight, regardless of who was right or wrong, parents would tell them that fighting is wrong. But in the Heaven Tribe, looking at the proud expression of the beastman in front of him, it was clear he didn’t think Sheng was wrong. Instead, he felt proud because Sheng won.

“I’ll take one back for Sheng. Could you deliver half to the cave over there, and the rest, one for each young one in the tribe?”

“Alright, Tribe Leader.”

When Xie Hui returned to the cave, without his help, Little Tiger couldn’t start a fire. He wrapped himself tightly in the large animal skin Xie Hui usually used.

Perhaps hearing footsteps, Little Tiger hurriedly emerged, circling around Xie Hui, whining as if complaining about his grievances.

Xie Hui went over, took out the preserved Fire Seed to start a fire. Sheng eagerly helped by carrying firewood. Once the fire was burning, he lazily lay down nearby, letting out a contented hum.

“I heard Sheng won against a Sky Tribe beastman today?”

Upon hearing this, the Little Tiger, who had just lain down, quickly got up, proudly lifting his fluffy head.

“Roar.”

After roaring, he ran to the corner where he usually hid his food, retrieving a few vibrant feathers.

Xie Hui picked them up, examining them closely. Seeing Little Tiger’s face full of pride, he reached out to stroke his head.

“Sheng is impressive.”

“Roar~”

For such a small tiger to defeat a peacock from the neighboring tribe, Xie Hui believed the feather in his hand must have been plucked directly from the peacock by Sheng.

In fights among the young, adult beastmen typically didn’t interfere. However, Xie Hui suspected that the parents of the little peacock from the neighboring tribe were probably cursing them now.

Xie Hui found a straight, slender stick in the cave and used dried bark to tie the vibrant feathers to it, creating a simple cat teaser.

Holding the end of the teaser, he waved it in front of Sheng. Watching Sheng’s eyes instinctively follow the feather, his paw reaching out to swipe at it, Xie Hui moved the teaser further away.

Seeing the teaser escape, Sheng prepared to pounce, and after tumbling to the ground, he ignored any pain and continued chasing it around.

Initially, Xie Hui found it amusing to tease Little Tiger with the cat teaser.

But after a few days, he grew tired of the game. Yet, every day, he would be woken up by a tiger pressing on his face. Opening his eyes, he would see Sheng happily running over with the cat teaser in his mouth.

Placing it by Xie Hui’s hand, Sheng would use his paw to nudge his arm, urging him to play.

After this winter, during the spring gathering, Sheng finally didn’t have to be the tool tiger¹ anymore. The young ones born last year were cuter and more adorable than him.

He didn’t feel any sense of loss. In fact, when those young ones were held by male beastmen trying to court them and struggled uncomfortably, Sheng covered his face with his paw and snickered.

Sheng’s cheerful mood came to an abrupt halt when he saw his father also looking at the little furballs.

Stunned for a moment, confirming he wasn’t mistaken, Sheng pounced over and gave his father’s nose a firm smack with his paw.

Xie Hui was taken aback by Sheng’s sudden attack. If it weren’t for the familiar aura emanating from this Little Tiger, he would have swatted him away the moment he pounced.

“What happened?”

Before Sheng could answer, the Client in the System Space provided an explanation.

“Sheng is very possessive. He doesn’t like it when his father looks at other cubs. Once, I just glanced at one, and he scratched me until I bled.”

Understanding the reason, Xie Hui gently held Sheng’s two chubby front paws, intending to reason with him.

“It was wrong of me to look at other cubs, but you can’t hit me.”

As soon as he said this, Sheng used his two free hind legs to kick Xie Hui with all his might, baring his teeth and growling fiercely.

“Roar!”

The pain from the kick made Xie Hui seriously wonder if Sheng was just as fierce when he pulled out those peacock feathers.

“Alright, alright, it was my fault.”

Xie Hui admitted his mistake. Sheng was still angry, but given his father’s sincere apology, he finally gave one last forceful kick to vent his emotions, then buried his head in Xie Hui’s arms.

He started making whimpering sounds, completely unlike the fierce little tiger he had been moments ago. It almost made one suspect that the Tribe Leader had bullied Sheng.

Luo, witnessing the scene, walked over and placed a freshly picked flower behind Sheng’s ear, making the flowers on both ears symmetrical.

“Tribe Leader, Sheng is still just a cub. Most of the time, he acts on instinct and can’t control himself. Don’t take it too seriously.”

Xie Hui glanced down at Sheng, now nestled in his arms, recalling how his hind legs had moved so fast they were almost a blur when he kicked. He sighed helplessly.

“Alright, I understand.”

For beastmen of a similar age, this was the best way to express affection to the beastmen they admired. But for Xie Hui and Sheng, it meant sitting together and eating.

With the sharp knives exchanged from the seaside tribe, every beastman in the tribe now had one. Xie Hui cut the tenderest part of the meat in front of him and fed it to Sheng.

With such attentive care, the Little Tiger reluctantly accepted a bite.

He ate decisively, but after finishing, he turned away, burying his head back in Xie Hui’s arms to sulk.

Despite his sulking, Xie Hui noticed that Sheng wasn’t willing to let go of his grip. Even if Xie Hui let go, Sheng would cling tightly to him on his own.

That evening, as it was time to return to the cave to rest, Xie Hui walked on the lush grass, surrounded by the sounds of unknown insects. The Little Tiger in his arms was warm, even a bit hot.

Once home, the Little Tiger had already fallen asleep. Xie Hui placed him on the soft animal skin, gently pinching his soft paw pads with his thumb and forefinger.

He had never seen such a temperamental and jealous Little Tiger. He simply thought that the little lion cub born last year looked adorable with its fluffy appearance.

He hadn’t expected Sheng to get so upset. The spot where Sheng had hit him still ached.

Xie Hui reached out to stroke Sheng’s whiskers, giving them a gentle tug, and whispered a threat:

“Dare to hit your father again, and you’ll be eating grass tomorrow.”

It was unclear if Sheng heard him, but after Xie Hui spoke, Sheng let out a soft cry and turned his head to the other side to continue sleeping.

In spring, the season of renewal, the edible plants cultivated by the Priest bore fruit, which basically met the daily needs of the females in the tribe. Occasionally, there were even extras to trade with neighboring tribes.

The Sky Tribe, in particular, had birds that loved these fruits. Every time there was an exchange, Sheng insisted on going along.

Once again, it was the awkward season when tigers shed their fur. Xie Hui swept the cave twice a day, yet tiger fur seemed to be everywhere.

After shedding the thick winter fur, whenever it was Xie Hui’s turn to hunt, the Little Tiger would follow him, paws padding along.

Xie Hui sent him back a few times, but seeing his dejected look, obediently waving goodbye with his paw, Xie Hui decided it was about time to teach him how to hunt. So he brought along other cubs of similar age to Sheng.

They didn’t go too far with the cubs. Sheng followed behind his father, occasionally leaping up to try and touch his father’s tail, undeterred even after being scolded.

When they arrived, Xie Hui hadn’t even had a chance to instruct the cubs before they all pounced in one direction, startling Xie Hui.

“Sheng!”

Translator’s Notes