Chapter 224: Little Tiger’s Roar in the Beast World – 13

“Sheng, you’re almost a grown beastman now.”

Seeing this scene, Xie Hui couldn’t help but recall how greedy Sheng was as a child. He would always bury himself in the belly of a prey to take a bite, getting his fur dirty, and Xie Hui would have to bring him over to wash up.

When Sheng was bored, he loved to dig at the ground with his paws. Back then, he would lie flat on the ground, but now he only needed one paw.

“Roar~”

Sheng didn’t notice his father’s sentimental mood. Instead, he let out a proud roar. Yes, he was almost a grown beastman now! He was strong enough to protect his father, and no matter where his father went, he wouldn’t be left behind because he was too small.

“Let’s go, it’s time to distribute the food.”

Sheng lay down in front of his father, tapping his back with his tail. His clear eyes conveyed his intentions clearly.

Seeing his enthusiastic demeanor, Xie Hui found it amusing and transformed into a tiger, running ahead. The cub left behind was momentarily stunned but instinctively followed.

Although the Priest was willing to take in the unfamiliar beastmen they found in the forest, the food given to her was minimal, just a small, bloody piece.

“How are we supposed to eat this?”

Xue’s eyes reddened with anger, her sharp voice causing a momentary silence. Usually, they would carry their food back to the cave to eat, but today they were too hungry and couldn’t wait to start eating after the distribution.

Had they known the female they brought back would throw a tantrum over such a trivial matter, they would have crawled back to the cave even if starving.

Sheng, who had just bitten off half of his meat, was taken aback by her words. He looked at the piece of meat with his teeth marks, then nudged his father with his head.

Xie Hui continued eating, not bothering to intervene. Compared to the original storyline, Xue’s arrival was earlier, and things hadn’t gone as the plot intended. In the original story, after being brought back to the tribe, Xue was pampered by several male beastmen who fell in love with her at first sight, never letting her suffer.

They even risked encountering forest fires ignited by lightning because she found raw food hard to swallow. But now, those beastmen who would fall for her hadn’t even grown up yet. A leopard spent its days climbing onto his father’s back, asking him to play, while a little lion was always up to mischief, secretly hiding cubs in its den and feigning innocence when others searched for them.

As for the other beastmen, they were still training hard in various hunting techniques, with Sheng as their target. Initially, the females liked this beautiful female, but after she said she only wanted to see the Tribe Leader, they grew annoyed with her. How could a beastman be so tactless, arguing and shirking responsibility even after being told her gaze was impolite?

At first, the beastmen were startled by her loud voice, but they soon resumed eating in silence, quickening their pace. After finishing, they cheerfully returned to their caves, moving faster than ever.

Sheng was no exception. After eating, he saw his father hadn’t finished yet and carried his father’s meat back to the cave.

Xie Hui was curious about how the female protagonist would resolve this. He knew that for a modern person, eating raw meat was difficult, but it wasn’t an excuse to rudely trouble others.

Back in the cave, Xie Hui finished the remaining meat and watched Sheng, who was already lying down, ready to sleep. He couldn’t help but wonder what Sheng thought of Xue now. Was it because Sheng was still a Little Tiger and didn’t understand beastman emotions, or did he genuinely feel nothing for Xue?

From Xie Hui’s perspective, he felt a flower would attract Sheng more than Xue.

Xue stayed in the tribe for a long time, not leaving after healing as the Priest had suggested. She tearfully begged the Priest to let her stay until the snow passed. Although no beastmen had returned to the Beast God’s embrace during the snow in recent years, the Priest still remembered the harshness of the snow deeply. Having suffered such hardships, she felt compassion for those like her.

When storing food, Xue, who initially wanted to teach them better methods, began to doubt if she had really traveled to a primitive world upon seeing their expert techniques. She adjusted her clothes and approached the females preparing the meat, advising them:

“Now isn’t the best time to make cured meat. The weather is still warm, and the meat will develop a foul smell. Why not wait until it gets colder?”

The female she addressed rolled her eyes and pushed her aside. “Don’t bother me here.”

Xue had expected them to ask for her reasons after she spoke, but instead, they treated her like a nuisance. “Why won’t you believe me? Look at how hard the beastmen work hunting every day. Can you really waste their hard-earned food so carelessly?”

Among the group working, a slightly hot-tempered female couldn’t hold back after being scolded and retorted, “Look at that tree over there. Does it look like a tree to you?”

They had been curing meat for years and knew it could develop a smell if not handled properly. They didn’t need an outsider to remind them, just like they didn’t need someone to tell them the sun would rise after they slept.

“You, I’m just trying to help, but you’re all so selfish!”

If Xue hadn’t spoken, the matter might have been left at that. However, after she spoke, a hot-tempered female, busy with her work, muttered angrily, “You don’t do any work yourself, just relying on your thick skin to eat. Can you stop bothering us while we work?”

“Waiting until the weather turns cold and prey is hard to catch before making cured meat? I might as well cure you instead!”

Moreover, the area where their tribe was located was extremely cold, with temperatures dropping suddenly. During that season, if they were lucky enough to catch some prey, there was no need to preserve it. Unless there were certain beastmen in the tribe with peculiar tastes who preferred it that way, they would simply process the meat and store it in the food cave, where it would freeze solid overnight.

Today, Sheng had caught quite a lot of prey. The hunters even unanimously decided to give him a small prey he had caught on his own. Of course, this was because Sheng had kept his paw firmly on the prey after catching it.

He remembered his father saying that this type of prey tasted quite good. Indeed, he thought it was quite nice himself. The only downside was that there wasn’t much meat, and the prey was cunning and difficult to catch.

Sheng, who usually disliked carrying things, returned to the tribe with the prey in his mouth, happily running towards the cave as soon as he got back.

“Sheng is amazing.”

Xie Hui, who was using a special stone to record things on the cave wall, heard the familiar voice and turned around, seeing the prey Sheng was carrying. That creature was incredibly fast and could burrow into the ground, so Xie Hui hadn’t managed to catch it more than a couple of times.

“Roar~”

Having worked hard to catch the prey, even wearing down his claws, Sheng was thrilled to receive praise from his father, his tail wagging excitedly.

Xie Hui used a sharp knife to skin the prey and cut it in half, giving Sheng the better part of the meat, just as he had when Sheng was younger. The prey’s fur was also quite nice, and Xie Hui planned to make something to protect Sheng’s ears once the snow came and they had more free time.

Some time passed, and when their food preparations were nearly complete, it seemed that the beastmen in the tribe had only taken a nap. Overnight, the outside world had turned into a vast expanse of white.

Sheng, upon waking, didn’t notice at first. With a fire lit in the cave, he didn’t feel cold. But when he inadvertently saw the snowflakes outside, he instinctively pulled his paws inward, glancing left and right, and retrieved the beast skin his father had prepared for him from a corner.

As he covered himself, he realized his tail was still outside, so he used his paw to pull it in as well.

That day, when Xie Hui woke up, he was met with Sheng’s somewhat aggrieved gaze. After a moment of confusion, he noticed the extra beast skin on Sheng and realized it was now a bit small. He distinctly remembered that last year, when Sheng covered himself, there was plenty of extra length, but now his tiger rump was exposed.

“I’ll prepare a new one for you after the snow passes.”

“Roar~”

After Sheng agreed, Xie Hui comfortingly rubbed his head. He had thought Sheng would turn into a human before the snow, but he was still a big tiger. Most beastmen had no set pattern for transforming into humans after reaching adulthood. Some changed as soon as the snow passed, while others took until the end of the snowy season.

Xie Hui wasn’t anxious and didn’t want to add any pressure on Sheng. Occasionally, when he didn’t feel like being a tiger, he found it quite warm to sleep next to this big tiger in human form.

That day, Xie Hui went outside to check on the elderly beastmen’s living conditions. On his way back, he overheard some female beastmen discussing Xue, saying she was so lazy in winter that she’d let herself starve in the cave rather than make food.

Xie Hui only caught a bit of the conversation and felt a bit worried that the large tiger in the cave might singe his fur. When he returned to the cave and heard the frantic sounds of bouncing inside, he paused instinctively.