SGSHE65

AXing pushed away the hand of ABai, the white tiger, only then realizing his reaction had been a bit intense, perhaps even domineering.

He didn’t stop to consider why he had reacted so strongly at this moment.

AXing offered a casual explanation: “AGuang can shift into his beast form now, he’s no longer just a little cub. Stop patting his head all the time.”

ABai sheepishly withdrew his hand and smiled, saying, “It’s just that he looks as cute as he did when he was little!”

Even the smallest tiger cubs have a limit to how tiny they can be.

They certainly don’t look like Jing Heguang does now, fluffy and seemingly so small that a single palm could knock him over.

However, since ABai had been rebuffed, the other beastmen simply watched for a moment before quickly escorting AXing to the shaman’s hut.

***

The shaman was an elderly sub-beastman wearing a necklace made of nutshells, stones, and animal teeth.

Upon seeing that someone in the tribe was injured, the shaman immediately start treating AXing’s wounds.

When the other beastmen mentioned the spiny behemoths, the shaman looked at the young beastman in astonishment and praised him: “That’s incredible! Those spiny behemoths are terrifying, yet AXing, a single tiger, managed to take down two of them. I must record this event and paint it onto animal hide to preserve the story!”

AXing inevitably had to explain the situation once more regarding the little cub fast asleep in his arms.

“The other one was taken down by AGuang after he shifted into his beast form. His beast form is really huge.” AXing paused to choose the right word. “And very mighty too!”

He had actually wanted to say cute and mighty, but he felt that combining those two descriptions would make the story even harder for others to believe.

However, the shaman didn’t believe him either: “AGuang have also helped take down those two spiny behemoths, he really is a brave little beastman!”

After treating the powerful beastman’s wounds, the shaman reached out and said, “Let me see if the little beastman, AGuang, is hurt.”

The shaman’s touch felt different from the white tiger’s. AXing scooped the little cub out of his embrace and held him up for the shaman to examine.

The shaman touched Jing Heguang and remarked, “My, it’s been a long time since I’ve touched a cub this soft and tiny!”

A-Xing: …Suddenly, he wanted to tuck the cub back into his embrace.

The shaman gave him a quick pat, then began a serious examination of the little beastman.

When a beastman transforms for the first time after reaching adulthood, there are significant changes to the skeletal structure, so it is necessary to check if the body can keep up with the transformation.

As he examined him, the shaman said with some surprise, “AGuang really does seem more impressive than others of his kind! Once he recovers from this period of weakness, we’ll need to give him plenty of nourishing food.”

However, even though he sensed that the little beastman AGuang was exceptional, the shaman didn’t take the maltese tiger AXing’s words seriously.

The shaman added, “But the canine beastmen are limited by their innate traits. Doesn’t matter how impressive they are, they can’t match the tiger beastmen. It won’t be easy for AGuang to find a sub-beastman partner in the tribe later on.”

AXing tucked the little cub back against his chest: “No rush on that, he’s only just come of age.”

The shaman smiled: “I forgot. You haven’t found a sub-beastman partner yet either, AXing. You should hurry up and pick one so you can hold the ceremony in time for the Beast God Festival!”

Naturally, many sub-beastmen admired the strongest beastman.

AXing remained silent. He felt that he had no interest in sub-beastmen.

He thought to himself: Even the Beast God Festival three years from now has nothing to do with me, let alone this year’s!

While they were talking, Jing Heguang woke up.

***

Jing Heguang felt intense pain all over his body, and his ears were ringing. After shifting slightly, Jing Heguang realized he was pitifully small. He was famished, parched, and his throat ached terribly.

Jing Heguang: ???

Don’t tell me, after previously turning into some unknown four-legged beast, I’ve now transformed into the cub of some animal!!

As Jing Heguang moved, a soft, baby-like whimper escaped his throat.

Confirmed: he was definitely a cub.

Hearing the whimpering, the shaman handed a milk fruit to AXing. “Give him some to drink.”

Beastmen in a weakened state shrink down to a tiny size and receive the same treatment as cubs, they have to drink milk.

The difference is that they revert to their adult forms after half a month, unlike actual cubs who must grow up gradually.

AXing bent down and reached out to take the milk fruit.

Meanwhile, Jing Heguang felt something being placed into his mouth. Once he identified what it was, he resigned himself to the situation and sucked it!

Fine, so I’m drinking milk. Every cub goes through this stage, after all.

However, after sucking twice, he hadn’t gotten a drop!

Jing Heguang: I’m losing my mind…

AXing felt the little cub take a nip at him, so he reached out and lifted Jing Heguang from his embrace: “AGuang, I don’t have milk.”

Jing Heguang kept his eyes closed for a moment, then slowly opened them to adjust to the light.

Once his eyes were open, his dark, glossy gaze fixed unblinkingly on the handsome man before him.

Although he couldn’t quite make out what the handsome man had said, the man was undeniably striking.

On the young man’s lean, sharply defined face, a pair of eyes, inky black with hints of blue, shone like mysterious gems, exuding an air of cool noble detachment.

Jing Heguang thought to himself: Those eyes look a bit familiar.

After his heart gave a few excited thumps, it clicked, those were the big tiger’s eyes!

Jing Heguang excitedly let out a sound: Mm-hng!

But immediately after making the noise, he felt utterly dejected. The energy drained right out of his four little flailing legs.

The big tiger had turned into a handsome man, so why had he turned into such a tiny little thing?!

Just as this thought crossed his mind, a wave of pain surged through Jing Heguang’s head. He clutched his skull with his front paws and began to struggle, whimpering in distress.

Startled, A-Xing set him back down on his lap and asked the shaman anxiously, “Shaman, what’s wrong with AGuang?!”

“It’s nothing. It’s likely the lingering pain from his earlier beast transformation. He has to push through it himself.”

The shaman explained the situation and instructed AXing to feed the little beastman some milk-fruit juice. Milk-fruit was highly nourishing and would help soothe the little one’s body.

AXing pried the cub’s mouth open and, frowning, fed him the milk.

Meanwhile, Jing Heguang was clutching his head as he absorbed a flood of memories.

The original owner of this canine beastman shared a character in his name with Jing Heguang, he was called AGuang.

The original owner’s fathers, his biological father and his other dad, belonged to the Shiba Inu clan. They had left their tribe to travel and had met a mated pair of tiger beastmen along the way. This pair of tiger beastmen, a couple, were the biological father and the sub-beastman dad of the maltese tiger A-Xing.

Later, the tiger couple invited the canine couple to visit their territory, only to arrive just as a crisis struck the tiger clan’s settlement.

The canine beastmen possess a keen sense of smell and an innate, intuitive knack for locating things. Thus, they helped their tiger friends search for a new, suitable place to live.

However, migration is fraught with difficulties and dangers. Even after finding a suitable habitat, the perils do not simply vanish.

While attempting to save the tiger couple, the canine couple lost their lives. Their newborn child, the original owner of this body, was entrusted to the care of the tiger couple.

Unexpectedly, the tiger couple passed away shortly thereafter. Left with only the adolescent maltese tiger to raise him. The original owner grew up with the help of the other beastmen in the tribe.

The young canine beastman was actually treated well within the Tiger clan, as the Tiger clan were honest, straightforward people who remained grateful for the help the canine couple had provided.

However, the original owner was a lazy beastman. He never went hunting and couldn’t be bothered to practice hunting skills. Even when joining the sub-beastman to gather, he was inconsistent and half-hearted, relying entirely on the maltese tiger, A-Xing, for his livelihood.

Fortunately, the maltese tiger was incredibly strong and always managed to catch prey, making it easy for him to support the other as well.

Laziness aside, the original owner was also easily deceived. He fell for a beautiful sub-beastman, but that sub-beastman’s affections lay with the clan patriarch’s son.

The maltese tiger was the strongest beastman in the entire clan and a formidable contender against the patriarch’s son for the position of the next patriarch.

Consequently, the rival hatched a scheme. He used the sub-beastman to trick the original owner into luring the maltese tiger to the cornfield.

In the original course of events, the maltese tiger lost his life in this trap, while the original owner survived.

Later, when the original owner returned to the tribe, since he lost the maltese tiger’s provisions, his quality of life deteriorated visibly.

That sub-beastman even stopped paying him any mind, which infuriated him to no end!

Then, a fiercely wild Lion Clan coveted the Tiger Clan territory. They came to provoke conflict and deliberately tried to seize the land.

During the ensuing clash between the two tribes, the original owner was ambushed by a lion beastman. He suffered a leg injury that left him lame and unable to move freely.

Next came a massive beast stampede, a once-in-twenty-years event, during which the original owner was devoured by a frenzied wild beast while trying to flee.

After reviewing the memories, Jing Heguang had only one thought: that idiot deserved his fate!

It hadn’t been easy for AXing, the maltese tiger, to raise him; it took real effort. How could a beastman expect a double share of meat without contributing any labor?

Yet, the original owner showed no gratitude. Instead, he acted as an accomplice, ultimately causing the maltese tiger death.

Thinking of how the big tiger had turned to face that hideous monster just so he could survive, Jing Heguang felt it was a terrible injustice to the tiger!

Fortunately, he had arrived in time to save the big tiger.

After absorbing the memories, Jing Heguang noticed a milky taste in his mouth.

It was actually quite delicious!

Jing Heguang smacked his lips, thirsty and hungry, he instinctively licked the juice from the opening of the milk-fruit.

With the memories now in his mind, he understood that he was in the period of weakness following a beastman’s first transformation into beast form, so he would need to consume this milk for about half a month.

Seeing that the cub on his leg no longer seemed to be in discomfort, AXing stroked the cub’s back, feeling a sense of relief.

Jing Heguang finished the juice from two milk-fruits and let out a satisfied burp.

Amidst the curious gazes of the other tiger beastmen, AXing gently turned the cub over and stroked Jing Heguang’s soft, pale-furred belly. “It’s rounded out now, he must be full.”

Jing Heguang’s belly was being stroked, he kicked his legs, trying to flip back over.

The shaman finally couldn’t hold back: “Canine cubs are just too adorable! So fluffy and tiny!”

The white tiger remarked, “Other canine cubs aren’t this cute, they’re usually scrawny. Brother Xing is just really good at raising the little beastman! Look how chubby and squishy he is!”

The other tiger beastmen felt the same way: “Exactly! Only our tiger clan, with our superior hunting skills, could raise such an adorable cub!”

“Tell me, who’s fatter — AGuang, or AFei, that little tiger cub in the litter?”

Jing Heguang: ???

Him — fat and squishy?!

Stunned, Jing Heguang held up his paw and took a look at it.

Then, moving his short little legs, he chose to burrow into the maltese tiger’s embrace.

Snuggling into the arms of the good beastman AXing, the Maltese tiger, Jing Heguang felt a sense of calm wash over him.

Suddenly, a voice echoed in his mind, telling him he had to find someone, that person was his Xingxing!

Xingxing? Could it be AXing, the maltese tiger?

The thought flashed through Jing Heguang’s mind, and he felt a growing sense of certainty.

After all, he really liked AXing.

Back when the big tiger had been in danger, a voice inside him had told him not to leave.

And just moments ago, when he saw AXing in his human form, he felt as though his heart had been stolen!

Even now, he felt no sense of unfamiliarity with the big tiger. It was as if they were simply meant to be together.

AXing was delighted to see the little cub voluntarily crawl into his arms.

Compared to the other beastmen, the little cub clearly liked him the best.

Wait, liked him the best?

AXing found the thought in his mind a bit odd. It felt somewhat like…the possessiveness a beastman might feel toward a sub-beastman.

In the past, he hadn’t felt anything particular when AGuang got close to other beastmen or sub-beastmen. But today was different.

AXing thought of the smile the little beastman had worn when saving him, that smile was what had made him feel so strange!

Frowning, AXing watched as a fluffy little head poked out from beneath his animal skin tunic.

Jing Heguang let out a soft, milky whimper, trying to speak. The shaman eyes lit up: “So adorable! What do you want to say, little AGuang?”

The white tiger added enviously, “How about I go steal a cub from the Dog Clan to raise?”

The white tiger immediately got a rap on the head from the shaman, was someone else’s cub really something you could just steal?

Under the amused gazes of the crowd, Jing Heguang grunted a few times before finally uttering his first words: “Bas…basket (Lan zhi)!”

The beastmen gathered around, chattering all at once.

“Do you want to eat a little squeaking (zhizhi) beast?”

“Or do you want to play with a little squeaking beast?”

“Blue (lan)…the sky is very blue today, right?”

Only AXing gave it serious thought, he frowned and asked, “Do you mean the basket? The one you were carrying is broken, it got crushed by a spiny behemoth.”

AXing knew that basket had been a gift from the sub-beastman.

Realizing the little beastman was still thinking about that basket, AXing’s frown deepened.

The little beastman seemed to like the delicate, petite sub-beastmen, yet he himself was the tribe’s strongest beastman.

Jing Heguang extended his paw and excitedly patted AXing.

Finally, someone understood! It had been so frustrating.

However, since Jing Heguang was snuggled inside the person’s fur garment, his wild patting landed in a spot it shouldn’t have.

Jing Heguang sheepishly withdrew his paw, finding it uncomfortable to speak, he mimicked the roar of the spiny behemoth.

“Roar, roar—”

Jing Heguang imitated the spiny behemoth’s call a couple of times, then shouted, “Basket!”

The other beastmen hadn’t witnessed the actual event, so naturally, they didn’t understand what he meant.

They just found the cub’s roaring, fierce in a cute babyish way, amusing, so they all laughed and chuckled. “Haha, AGuang, give us another roar!”

“Save it for teasing the little tiger cub back home.”

AXing, the maltese tiger, was the only one listening whose expression gradually turned cold.

“You’re saying…the basket is what lured the spiny behemoth here? It wasn’t an accident!”

Author’s Note: A-Guang: That guy who took out the giant monster with a single kick? That’s really me!

T/N: cub are really cute fr ( ⸝⸝´꒳`⸝⸝)