Interstellar Beast World: All My Husbands Are Powerful and Rich!-Chapter 177: Fishing requires patience

Yuel had warned that they must not bring the elders directly to see Wen. Wen had clearly been deliberately concealing himself—if the elders failed to recognize him, and Wen realized they were onto him, he would only hide himself more carefully.

The Merfolk elders studied the recording with intense focus.

They examined not only the bubble-blowing pink fish but also each of the other pink fish swimming nearby.

Then, one by one, they shook their heads.

"No. That fish is not our king."

"Our king is dignified and aloof. He would never do something as childish as blowing bubbles."

"That’s right. Our king would never behave in such an immature way."

"Absolutely not."

They were utterly convinced. Their king—Wen—would never stoop to blowing bubbles.

Vincent exhaled slowly.

Just as Yuel had predicted, the elders hadn’t recognized him.

"It seems I was mistaken," Vincent said apologetically. "My apologies for troubling you. I will continue searching for your king."

"Your Highness Prince Vincent, we entrust our king to you."

On land, the Merfolk’s movements were limited and inconvenient. They had no choice but to rely on the Firebird Clan.

As they spoke, the elders began crying again.

Pearls fell in steady pat, pat sounds onto the marble floor.

These elders were Rank eight and Rank nine powerhouses—the pearls born of their tears were large, luminous, and flawlessly round.

Such quality pearls were rarely seen on the open market.

Vincent did not interrupt. He comforted them patiently while watching them weep.

Only when the crying subsided and no more pearls fell, did he politely escort them out.

The moment the elders left, Rory entered the hall with Yuel, Jasper, and Xarion.

Her eyes immediately lit up at the sight of the pearls scattered across the floor.

"They’re so big. So bright. So perfectly round. I’ve never seen pearls like this before."

Jackpot. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Seeing how delighted she was, the others quietly helped gather every last one.

Jasper remarked casually, "I’ve heard that pearls formed from the tears of the Merfolk King are pink. Even larger. Even more beautiful."

Xarion replied flatly, "Then when he reveals himself, we can beat him until he cries more pearls for the Female Master."

His tone was calm—almost thoughtful.

Yuel nodded approvingly. "That’s an excellent idea."

Vincent sighed. If Xarion ever became Yuel’s enforcer, the two of them would be unstoppable.

Rory hugged the full bag of pearls and looked at Yuel.

"The elders insist that pink fish isn’t their king. What do we do next?"

All eyes turned to Yuel. He lifted a brow. "We go fishing."

That afternoon, the guard team released a fresh batch of fish into the artificial lake under Yuel’s instructions.

By evening, Nix returned from the Lion-Tiger Clan.

He had barely stepped inside before Rory told him to hurry and eat dinner—because they would be going fishing tonight.

Fishing?

Nix blinked in confusion but obediently went to eat.

After dinner, Yuel tossed two of his leaves into the artificial lake.

Then he, Vincent, Jasper, Xarion, and Rory all retreated to Rory’s room. Her large balcony provided a perfect view of the lake below.

They crouched there silently, hardly daring to breathe.

Time crawled by. At one in the morning, Nix yawned quietly beside Yuel.

"Is that pink fish really Wen? Why hasn’t he come out yet?"

Could Yuel have been wrong?

"Be patient," Rory whispered. "Fishing requires patience."

***

Downstairs, Wen had just finished digesting Yuel’s leaf. He stretched contentedly in the fish tank.

Today’s leaf from the little female’s companion had made his body feel wonderfully comfortable.

He wasn’t hungry at all.

Wen swam lazily in two cheerful circles. The other pink fish scattered into the corners, trembling.

Ever since this terrifying presence had appeared, they had lived in constant fear.

He had nearly eaten them a few days ago.

But tonight Wen was in good spirits. After swimming around a bit, he happily drifted off to sleep.

A pity the little female had gone back to her room early tonight. Otherwise, he would have blown more bubbles for her.

***

Up on the balcony, they waited the entire night.

Wen never appeared.

Nix eventually fell asleep leaning against Yuel. Jasper and Vincent, dark circles under their eyes, turned toward Yuel.

"Could you have been mistaken?" Jasper asked.

"Impossible," Yuel replied calmly. "My judgment is never wrong."

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"I know what happened. Yesterday I gave him a leaf. He ate it and no longer felt hunger—so he didn’t go to the lake to steal fish."

Vincent said coolly, "Then we let him starve for two days."

Xarion, half-draped against Rory, muttered in a resentful tone, "Female Master... let Nix stew him."

If he didn’t want to return to the Merfolk, then perhaps he shouldn’t return at all.

"Absolutely not," Rory rejected immediately. "If we really stewed him, how would the Firebird Clan explain that to the Merfolk?"

Besides... the thought of eating something half-human and half-fish was deeply unsettling.

Jasper hooked his finger gently around Rory’s little finger.

"He won’t come out during the day. Let’s rest. You’ve been awake all night."

"Yes, yes!" Nix perked up instantly. "Rory, I learned a new massage technique from the Lion-Tiger Clan yesterday. You must be tired from staying up all night. Let me massage you."

He had learned quite a few "skills."

Rory couldn’t bring herself to refuse his enthusiasm.

"Alright."

Vincent and the others exchanged glances.

So that was what Nix had gone back to the Lion-Tiger Clan to learn.

When the others left, Nix happily took out a bottle of oil he had brought back and washed his hands carefully.

"Rory, take off your outer clothes and lie down. I’ll apply the oil."

Rory slipped off her outer layer and lay on the bed.

The oil was refined from a fire-element aberrant beast and infused with floral fragrance. It smelled warm and pleasant.

As Nix worked it into her skin, it gave off a faint heat.

Combined with his newly learned techniques, it was... surprisingly effective.

Exhausted from the sleepless night, Rory soon drifted off under his hands.

Nix continued for a while longer, only stopping when his own eyelids drooped.

He lay down beside her and fell asleep too.

They slept straight through the day.

It wasn’t until evening, when Jasper arrived with dinner and knocked on the door, that they finally woke.

Nix went to open the door for Vincent.

Rory slipped into the bathroom for a quick shower and changed into fresh clothes.

By the time she emerged, Vincent and Yuel had already arrived.

Xarion came in last.

Seeing that there was no space left beside Rory, he silently moved to the balcony and lay down there instead.