After Giving Birth, All My Beast Ex-Husbands Suddenly Want Me Back-Chapter 169: No one wants to help

Drago and his group flew straight into the tribe, descending into its very heart.

"Who are you? What business do you have here?"

Chief Karo’s gaze swept over the group of beastmen, sizing them up from head to toe.

"We are beastmen from Spirit Stone City," Drago replied, his tone laced with arrogance. "We’ll be staying in your tribe for two days."

A shadow crossed the chief’s face. "We don’t have any spare houses. You should leave."

Drago’s haughty demeanor clearly displeased him.

"We are nobles of our city, and you dare refuse us lodging?" Lina snapped, anger flashing in her eyes.

To her, their willingness to stay in such a shabby, backwater tribe was already an act of generosity—yet they were being turned away.

Nearby, several beastmen began whispering among themselves.

"They’re from a city..."

"They’re dressed well—those furs look expensive."

"And that female’s jewelry... it must be worth quite a lot."

...

Peppy watched Lina, a flicker of longing passing through her eyes.

They were from a city. She had always dreamed of going to one—perhaps this time, she might finally have a chance.

"And what if you are nobles from a city?" Chief Karo said coolly. "This is my tribe. If I say there’s no space, then there’s no space."

Drago stepped forward. "We’ll pay in beast crystals. Name your price—just give us a few rooms."

They only needed to rest for a couple of days; the conditions hardly mattered.

One of the males tugged at the chief’s arm. "Father, don’t we still have a few old houses? If they’re paying, we might as well take the crystals."

Chief Karo considered this for a moment before nodding. "Fine. One blue crystal per house. The conditions are poor—take it or leave it."

The boy had a point. If there were fools willing to overpay, why not profit from it?

"That’s outrageous!" Lina protested. "Are your houses made of gems? That’s far too expensive—and we’re only staying for two or three days."

Even in Spirit Stone City, a luxurious residence cost only a dozen or so black crystals a month. Yet this shabby mountain tribe was charging a full blue crystal.

"If you can’t afford it, then don’t stay," Chief Karo replied flatly.

Drago shot Lina a warning look, silencing her complaints.

He frowned slightly, hesitating for a brief moment before relenting. "Fine."

They had been under constant attack from mutated beasts these past days—exhausted to the bone. They truly needed a couple of days to rest.

"Take us there."

Chief Karo led them to a cluster of dilapidated stone houses. The structures were worn and crumbling—far worse than even the old stone dwellings on Nina’s side.

"And you expect us to live in this?"

Lina pointed at the crumbling stone houses, her eyes blazing with anger. "For these wrecks, you still dare charge us a whole blue crystal?"

"I already told you—the conditions are poor. Stay if you want, leave if you don’t," Chief Karo replied indifferently.

"Fine. We’ll take these few," Drago said at last.

At the very least, staying inside the tribe meant far less danger from mutated beasts.

Chief Karo cast Lina a sidelong glance, then turned and left with the other tribesmen.

"How are we supposed to live in such a dump?" Lina complained bitterly.

"We’ll clean it up. It’s still better than sleeping out in the open," Drago said, his patience wearing thin. "I told you before—the wilderness is barren and dangerous. You insisted on coming anyway."

"...Fine," Lina relented.

No matter how shabby, it was still better than those broken trees and filthy, foul-smelling caves that let in the wind from every direction.

If it weren’t for wanting to see Nina make a fool of herself, she would never have come to such a miserable place.

And yet she hadn’t even seen Nina—while she herself had already suffered plenty.

Still... in a place this desolate and dangerous, Nina must be faring far worse. When she finally saw her, she would make sure to mock her properly.

At that thought, Lina felt considerably more at ease.

She picked the least awful of the houses, had her beast-husband clean it up, and moved in with visible distaste.

The next morning.

Aviel and the others dragged their injured bodies out of bed as usual to prepare breakfast for Nina.

Dian was there too. This time, he didn’t try anything clever—he simply followed along and learned how to cook properly.

When Nina came out and saw them, she was startled. Aside from Yanai, who looked slightly better, the other three were in a miserable state—so battered they were barely recognizable.

Without a word, she walked past them and took her seat at the table.

Seeing that she ignored them, Aviel and the others lowered their heads and trailed after her, dejected.

Ridan and the others brought out breakfast, while Odian and the rest prepared milk for the little ones.

Finch and Aviel stepped forward, hoping to help prepare milk for Didi, Linny, and Momo—but Mino and Sal pushed them aside.

"I’ll handle Didi’s milk from now on," Mino said, already moving swiftly.

"I’ll take care of Linny and Momo," Sal added, just as practiced.

Finch and Aviel looked pitifully at the children, silently pleading for them to put in a good word with Nina.

The little ones ignored them completely, hugging their bottles and gulping down milk with great enthusiasm.

Finch and Aviel felt a wave of frustration.

These little brats—are they even our children?

Soon, everyone sat down to eat. Aviel and the others didn’t dare approach the table and remained standing to the side.

Only after everyone had finished did members of the four males’ clans bring them some food.

They chewed mechanically, tasting nothing.

Without eating alongside Nina, even the most delicious food felt utterly bland.

After the meal, Didi and Momo played in the courtyard.

Finch and Taru tried to pick Didi up, but he dodged away, refusing to let them hold him.

"Didi, where are you running off to? Don’t run—Father has something to tell you," Finch called, stepping closer.

Didi immediately darted away, chasing after Momo into the house.

Hmph. If Mother doesn’t like you, neither do I.

Finch didn’t dare follow inside. He and Taru stood by the doorway curtain, sighing. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Aviel blocked Linny’s path. "Good child, help your father out. I made your mother angry—how do I get her to forgive me?"

Linny simply walked around him, ignoring the question entirely.

Aviel hurried after him and blocked him again. "Linny, don’t you want your father anymore?"

Linny stuck out his tongue at him: If Mother doesn’t want you, neither do I.

Then he slipped away in a flash, vanishing from Aviel’s sight.

Aviel simply stood there, staring at Nina’s room for a long time, unmoving.

Yanai lingered outside the door, hesitating, not daring to step inside.

Inside another room, Lex pulled Dian aside. "Dian, go help your brother—say a few good words to Nina for me."

"I can’t help you with that," Dian refused immediately. "What if Sister Nina ends up disliking me too?"

He had no intention of being dragged down by his brother.

"And you still have the nerve to say that? This is all because of you! Otherwise, how would I have ended up like this?" Lex snapped angrily.

"I was just telling the truth! You were the one who broke off the engagement—who else is there to blame?" Dian retorted, completely unapologetic.

"That was because of you too! If you hadn’t brought it up, none of this would have happened. I don’t care—you have to help me. Otherwise, I’ll tell Nina about that childhood sweetheart of yours."

"Don’t talk nonsense! She’s not a childhood sweetheart—we just knew each other. We barely even spoke!" Dian said anxiously.

He was genuinely worried Lex might start spouting nonsense in front of Nina. If she believed it, he’d be finished—he knew some females cared deeply about such things.

"And you still say she’s not? Didn’t you two play together all the time as children?" Lex pressed.

"I did not! She was the one who kept coming to find me—I ignored her every time," Dian snapped, exasperated. "You are not allowed to slander me in front of Sister Nina."