Chapter 223: Little Tiger’s Roar in the Beast World – 12

When Sheng heard this, he felt increasingly guilty. He buried his large head in his father’s embrace, determined not to lift it no matter what.

He didn’t particularly enjoy having things on his back. Apart from the little flowers his father placed on him, he would shake off any grass seeds clinging to his fur with all his might. Unless it was absolutely necessary, like this time when he went to the seaside to trade goods or during regular hunting trips.

Upon returning to the tribe, Sheng was so happy to see his father that he instinctively shook off everything on his back, just like when he brought back prey, and pounced in front of his father.

Xie Hui looked at the large head buried in his embrace and helplessly rubbed the back of Sheng’s neck.

“It’s not your fault.”

“Roar~”

In this world of beastmen, females were not so rare that everyone would fight over them as soon as they appeared. They were indeed less common than males and not as physically strong, but their status in the tribe was no less than that of the males. Rather than rarity, their strength was what allowed them to stand firm in the tribe.

Take the Priest, for example. Even Xie Hui treated her with the utmost respect. In the storyline Xie Hui knew, the female protagonist thought the people of the Heaven Tribe valued her because she was female. Now, having personally been here, he realized that wasn’t the case. The reason was more likely the kindness inherent in these beastmen.

“Why can’t she walk?”

When the beastmen in the tribe curiously watched her, Xie Hui also approached, looking at the female protagonist, Xue, who was sitting on the ground rubbing her knee, his gaze somewhat indifferent.

“Tribe Leader, she said her skin would be cut by the wild grass on the roadside.”

A male beastman eagerly answered when the Tribe Leader asked, but after seeing the Tribe Leader’s expression, he suddenly realized something was amiss. On the way back, he had been pondering about this strange female who got lost in the forest. Her skin was as delicate as ripe berries, even getting scratched by roadside grass. Realizing this, the male quickly changed his tune:

“Tribe Leader, are we really going to take her in? She looks like she wouldn’t survive the snow.”

Xue, who was just an ordinary person in the modern world, had a leisurely job after graduating from a regular university. She enjoyed reading novels in her free time and never imagined she would one day travel to such a strange world. Fortunately, there was no communication barrier. Hearing that they didn’t want to take her in, Xue hurriedly stood up and explained:

“If you don’t take me in, I’ll be killed by the beasts in the forest.”

Xie Hui indeed didn’t want to keep her. He was worried that things might develop as they did in the storyline, where Sheng, who even got jealous when he looked at other people’s cute cubs, would become furious…

From a father’s perspective, he hoped Sheng would have a partner who would be wholeheartedly devoted to him for life.

“You can stay for a while, but you must leave once you recover.”

Before Xie Hui could speak, the Priest made the decision. Her heart was much softer and kinder than Xie Hui’s. Since the Priest had already expressed this idea, Xie Hui didn’t refute her publicly to avoid embarrassing her. Watching Sheng start looking for flowers, he suddenly felt his worries were somewhat unnecessary.

Sheng carefully selected a flower he thought was the most beautiful from the flower bed, bit it off, and handed it to his father, rubbing his head against him.

“Roar~”

Xie Hui looked at the flower Sheng had picked, carefully pinning it behind his ear, and gently ruffled his ear. Since they had been apart for some time, the tiger was quite well-behaved and didn’t mind his father touching his ear, nudging his father towards the flower bed.

“Hmm?”

Xie Hui was puzzled for a moment before realizing Sheng wanted him to pick a flower for him. Sheng liked flowers in full bloom, with petals fully spread, while Xie Hui preferred ones just beginning to bloom, which would look their best by evening if worn for a day.

Xue watched the man standing by the flower bed. She could see the passage of time in him, yet his steady demeanor reminded her of many television dramas she had watched in the modern world.

Xie Hui was focused on adorning Sheng with flowers and didn’t notice Xue’s attention on him. The soon-to-be adult Little Tiger was very perceptive. Noticing someone watching his father, he turned his head, ignoring the flowers, and growled at the woman he had carried back.

Xue had never been so close to such a large tiger. Frightened by his roar, she stumbled back two steps and fell, instinctively covering her eyes with her hands.

An adult female beastman walked over, took her arm, and helped her up.

“Don’t look at the Tribe Leader like that. Sheng will be unhappy.”

In the tribe, there were beastmen cubs who had lost both parents. A few years ago, after the Tribe Leader fed a parentless little beastman, the Little Tiger’s angry growls echoed in the tribe until midnight. Beastmen who lost one parent would transfer their possessiveness for their mother onto their father, which wasn’t uncommon in the tribe. Everyone tacitly adhered to this rule: as long as it was normal communication and normal gazes, it wouldn’t anger Sheng.

“I was just looking.”

Xue’s heart was still racing from the fright. Her explanation made the female beastman helping her abruptly withdraw her hand.

“Oh.”

After responding, she turned to join her friend in sorting the goods from the exchange. The tribe wasn’t very large, so Xie Hui could see Xue almost every day, as could Sheng.

He wasn’t exactly young anymore, so most of the time, Sheng would take his place in hunting, allowing him to rest within the tribe.

Although Xie Hui felt he didn’t need such careful attention, Sheng always managed to wake the other beastmen for hunting before Xie Hui even got out of bed.

When he had free time, Xie Hui often patrolled the tribe, asking the Priest to look after the orphaned beastmen cubs.

Lying on soft animal skins, the little cubs, with their soft cries, were still a bit babyish. Their fur was fresh and fluffy, and they would use their pink paws to act cute.

If it weren’t for his Little Tiger at home having such a keen sense of smell, he would have loved to pick up these cubs and cuddle them to his heart’s content.

Sheng’s hunting skills were exceptional; he even dared to take on buffalo and giraffes alone, leaving the onlooking beastmen both amazed and anxious.

Sheng alone had the habit of placing his paw on the prey’s head after a hunt, letting out a low growl as if celebrating his victory.

“Roar!”

At this stage, the tiger cub seemed fearless. After killing two large buffalo today, he wanted to return to the tribe to see if his father had secretly visited the nest of little cubs while he was away.

Sheng often looked at his reflection by the water and knew he wasn’t as cute as he was when he was smaller. So when those adorable cubs appeared before his father, he felt an unprecedented sense of crisis.

Once those cubs grow up and aren’t as cute, he wouldn’t stop his father from playing with them!

“Sheng, there’s another female in the Heaven Tribe today. Hunt one more.”

The male beastman who said this was already blushing. He knew it wasn’t appropriate for him, as Sheng’s elder, to make such a request.

But recently, for some reason, the prey in the forest had become very strong. Even working together, they couldn’t always handle it unless Sheng was willing to help.

Initially, they cooperated well, but later, Sheng started finding them a nuisance. Every time, he would take down the prey alone, and they would at most help carry things back.

Wanting to return to the tribe, Sheng irritably shook his head, growled in agreement, and quickly killed two wild boars.

He had calculated that the two buffalo they hunted would be more than enough for their group. Unexpectedly, because of the new female, he was forced to work overtime.

Sheng blamed all this on Xue, thinking she was both delicate and troublesome.

How could ordinary grass cut her skin? He had no problems running through the forest! Sheng didn’t consider the perspective of a female, simply thinking she was being overly dramatic.

On the way back to the tribe, Sheng left the others far behind.

The beastmen accompanying Sheng knew he had worked hard today and that he didn’t like carrying things back.

Carrying nothing, Sheng sprinted all the way back. From a distance, he saw his father sitting on the grass weaving flower crowns and obediently squatted in front of him.

Sheng’s tiger form was stunning. When Xie Hui sat on the grass, this tiger’s rear also sat on the grass, yet he was still taller than Xie Hui.

Xie Hui adjusted the flower crown he had woven and placed it on Sheng’s head.

“Why are you back so early today?”

“Roar~”

Sheng responded, and Xie Hui noticed the bloodstains on his head. Knowing Sheng wouldn’t let himself get hurt, he assumed it was the prey’s blood and led him to the nearest river.

Sheng obediently sat by the river, and when his father used water to clean his face, he instinctively shut his eyes tightly, letting out a few unwilling whines.

Although Sheng loved soaking in water during hot weather, he usually didn’t like getting his fur wet.

Xie Hui didn’t force him into the water, instead using his hands to dab water and clean the bloodstains from his fur.

Despite this, Sheng was still restless, lightly scratching the ground with his paws, digging a small pit.

After Xie Hui finished cleaning him and removing all the grass seeds stuck to his fur, he patted Sheng’s big head to comfort him.

The pit under Sheng’s paws was big enough to fit a small cub.

When Xie Hui looked over, Sheng guiltily covered it with his large paw and called out to his father.

“Roar~”