After Giving Birth, All My Beast Ex-Husbands Suddenly Want Me Back-Chapter 49: Spirit pearl

Early the next morning, Sal curled up at the head of the bed, waiting for Nina to wake.

As soon as Nina opened her eyes, she saw an enlarged, adorable little face right in front of her. She reached out to pet the "little kitty" and laughed softly. "Little Flower, were you waiting for your owner to wake up? You’re being so good."

Sal rubbed against her affectionately, then picked up the spirit pearl beside him and placed it in front of Nina. He let out a soft "meow," as if to say: Little female, this is for you—to nourish your body.

He had risked going out to retrieve the spirit pearl he had hidden away, all so he could help Nina recover her strength—and, incidentally, help himself regain some of his power as well.

Nina picked up the spirit pearl and examined it. "Little Flower, where did you get this? You didn’t steal it from some beastman in the tribe, did you?"

Sal shook his head vigorously. Of course not—this broken tribe didn’t even have anything this good.

"That’s good, then." 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Nina sat up against the headboard and looked more closely at the pearl.

It was a stunningly beautiful bead, a vivid, glossy red, translucent and radiant. It was just a bit large—nearly the size of a chicken egg.

She pulled the "little kitty" into her arms. "Did you find this and bring it to me as a gift?"

Sal nodded.

"Thank you, Little Flower. I’ll treasure it."

Nina stroked him gently and placed the spirit pearl on the bedside table as she prepared to get up.

Sal shook his head. This wasn’t meant to be kept as a mere keepsake.

He grabbed Nina’s hand, stared at her pale fingers, then steeled himself and lightly bit down. A drop of blood immediately welled up.

"Ouch—Little Flower, why did you bite me?" Nina asked in confusion.

Sal dragged the spirit pearl closer and smeared the drop of Nina’s blood onto its surface. Then he quickly, tenderly licked the tiny wound on her finger, clearly distressed.

The blood was instantly absorbed by the pearl. It flared with a dazzling light so bright that Nina had to shut her eyes, while Sal stared at it, eyes widening even further.

When the light faded, a totem had appeared on the surface of the spirit pearl.

Sal stared at Nina in disbelief.

The spirit pearl had acknowledged a master.

After obtaining it, he had tried countless methods to make it recognize him, all to no avail. In the end, he had resorted to blood sacrifice just to draw out a small amount of its energy to strengthen himself. Yet now, with just a single drop of Nina’s blood, the spirit pearl had willingly accepted her.

The spirit pearl was an extremely sentient divine object, notoriously difficult to bind. Even the fox clan could only nurture it, never truly command it.

How did the little female manage this so easily? Sal sighed inwardly. Perhaps the spirit pearl was simply fated to her.

Even though he hadn’t gained ownership of it himself, he was still happy. With the spirit pearl, Nina would be healthier and safer in the future.

Nina picked up the pearl and noticed the newly formed totem. She also sensed a strange connection with it—almost as if the pearl was feeling... happy.

She patted her own cheek. Am I imagining things? How could a pearl have emotions?

Yet she undeniably felt closer to it. She murmured to herself, "The totem does make it prettier. If it were a bit smaller, I could wear it as a necklace."

The moment she finished speaking, the spirit pearl flashed once, then suddenly shrank to the size of a grape. A small hole even formed naturally for threading a cord through it. The pearl glimmered again, as if asking: Is this small enough?

Nina blinked in astonishment. Has this pearl gained consciousness? It actually understands human speech?

Even Sal was amazed by its responsiveness. As expected of such a spiritual artifact—it truly was extraordinary.

Seeing how obedient the pearl was, Nina threaded it onto a sturdy cord and wore it around her neck. Then she got up to wash and freshen up.

At breakfast, Nina was a bit distracted, lost in thought about when it would be best to leave the Pine Stone Tribe.

After everything that had happened yesterday, she no longer wanted to stay here long-term.

She was about to give birth, so leaving immediately wasn’t practical. But newborn cubs were extremely fragile during their incubation period. Should she wait until the cub broke out of the shell before leaving?

And once she left, where would she go?

The cities were all far from the wastelands. The closest was Savage City, followed by Spirit Stone City—which she couldn’t return to.

Savage City’s environment and security weren’t great, and the other cities were far away, with unpredictable dangers along the way.

Maybe I should find a safer place somewhere within the wastelands first, stay there for a while, and only move to a better city once the cub is older?

"Mino," Nina asked, "is there anywhere in the wastelands that’s relatively safe?"

"You want to leave the Pine Stone Tribe?" Mino asked.

He guessed she was thinking of leaving because of what had happened yesterday.

"Yeah. I don’t really want to live here long-term."

"When are you thinking of leaving?"

"I’m still considering it, but at least after the cub is born."

"I’m not very familiar with this area either," Mino thought for a moment. "But I’ve heard the eastern region of the wastelands is safer. Nina, if you want to leave, would you like to come with me to Spirit Cat City?"

Nina shook her head. "Spirit Cat City is too far. The cub will be too young—it’s not suitable for such a long journey. I want to settle somewhere nearby in the wastelands first."

Mino agreed after some thought. Cubs under a year old were especially fragile, and traveling would mean exposure to the elements. The heavy rainy season was also approaching. Staying in the wastelands for another year or two wasn’t a bad idea.

"Alright. Then we’ll look for a tribe in the eastern region first. I’ll start preparing over the next few days."

"Okay."

With a preliminary plan in place, Nina finally ate with peace of mind.

Not long after breakfast, Leah and the others came to visit.

"Nina, we heard about what happened yesterday," Leah said with concern. "Are you alright?"

Bibi and Minnie looked equally worried.

"I’m fine now. Thank you for caring about me," Nina replied with a smile.

"I never thought Sano would be such a horrible male," Minnie said angrily. "You were right not to like him."

"Exactly," Bibi added furiously. "Did he die? If not, he should be reported to all the tribes and put on a wanted list. What he did is a serious crime."

"I’m not sure," Nina said. "After Mino injured him, he jumped into the river. But I have a feeling he’s probably still alive."

"I’ll help you report it to the chief," Minnie said anxiously. "You should be extra careful from now on. If he comes back again, that would be terrible."

"I will," Nina nodded. "Thank you."

"Nina," Leah said apologetically, "what happened in the square yesterday was my father’s fault. You were clearly in worse condition, yet he let the shaman treat Dora first. I’m sorry on his behalf."

"It’s okay. I don’t really mind," Nina replied.

And she truly didn’t. She had already decided to leave—why dwell on these things? The only regret was having to part with the few new friends she had just made.

"I’m glad you don’t mind," Leah said, visibly relieved.

They chatted with Nina for a while longer before leaving.

At noon, while Nina was taking a nap, Sal suddenly heard a wolf’s howl and darted outside.

He ran to the spot where he had sent the signal the night before. There, leaning lazily against a large tree, was a strikingly handsome male with silver hair, resting with his eyes closed.