After Giving Birth, All My Beast Ex-Husbands Suddenly Want Me Back

Chapter 309: Strange behavior

Inside the room, only four people remained: Nina, Dian, Lex, and Lani.

Dian took out a shimmering merfolk pearl and handed it to Nina.

"Nina, swallow the pearl. We’ll help you fuse with it."

Nina accepted the pearl and placed it into her mouth.

She had assumed it would be difficult to swallow, but the moment it touched her tongue, it softened almost instantly, melting like snow before sliding smoothly down her throat.

"Nina," Dian said softly, "we’re going to begin the fusion now. Close your eyes and feel the pearl’s energy. Let it merge with the energy inside your body."

"Alright." Nina closed her eyes obediently.

Lani looked toward Lex. Lex gave him a slight nod.

Standing behind Nina, he began channeling his energy into her, helping the merfolk pearl fuse completely.

Almost immediately, Nina felt a cool current spreading through her body.

The refreshing energy flowed gently through her veins before gradually intertwining with her own power, merging into something larger and stronger.

The fusion did not take long.

As the process completed, a trace of happiness flickered through Lex’s eyes.

His merfolk pearl now belonged to Nina. It gave him the illusion that perhaps... he belonged to her as well. Even if he knew it was merely self-deception, the feeling still filled him with quiet happiness.

Lani stepped forward once the fusion ended.

"Nina, the pearl has fully fused with you. However, you still cannot completely utilize all of its power yet. Even so, it’s more than enough for you to move freely within the deep sea."

A merfolk pearl could only be fully absorbed after mating. For now, they had merely helped Nina temporarily integrate part of its power.

"Thank you, Father. Thank you, Lex," Nina said sincerely.

Once the fusion was complete, Lani took his leave.

Lex lingered for a moment before reluctantly departing as well.

Dian sat down beside Nina and immediately wrapped his arms tightly around her, resting his head against her shoulder.

"Nina..." His voice was soft and clingy.

Nina gently stroked his cheek. "What’s wrong?"

Dian hid the turmoil in his heart and murmured quietly, "Nothing. I just really wanted to hold you."

Because he did not know if, in the future, he would still be allowed to. Truthfully... he was beginning to regret this.

Nina misunderstood his emotions as some kind of "aftereffect" from the merfolk pearl fusion.

"Alright then," she said softly. "You can hold me as long as you want."

Dian tightened his embrace even further.

Burying his face in the crook of her neck, he greedily inhaled her scent. For some reason, Nina kept feeling that Dian was acting strangely tonight.

After holding her for a very long time, he finally lifted his head.

"Nina, I’ll carry you to wash up."

Without waiting for her reply, he scooped her into his arms and carried her into the bathing chamber. The other beastmen had already prepared the bathwater earlier.

Once inside the bath chamber, Nina looked at Dian, who showed no intention of leaving.

"You’re not going out?"

Dian gently tugged at her sleeve. "Nina... I want to help wash you."

After a brief pause, Nina chose not to refuse.

Dian carefully removed her clothes before stripping off his own as well. Then he carried her into the bath pool.

A faint blush colored Nina’s cheeks.

Perhaps because she and Dian only shared that one hazy memory together, she still felt shy whenever she faced him like this.

The moment Dian entered the water, a breathtakingly beautiful fish tail appeared beneath the surface.

"Nina," he murmured softly, "can you touch my tail?"

Nina reached out obediently and gently stroked the shimmering scales.

Dian tilted his chin upward slightly, revealing an expression of pure enjoyment.

For merfolk, their tails were incredibly sensitive.

Gradually, a rosy flush spread across his pale, handsome face, and his breathing became uneven.

He wrapped his arms around Nina’s neck, his eyes seeming to mist over with moisture and longing.

"Nina... can I kiss you?"

Looking at the beautiful, dangerously alluring merman before her, Nina’s lips curved faintly.

Then she leaned forward and kissed him.

Dian closed his eyes and deepened the kiss immediately.

Within the vast bath pool, the two of them came dangerously close to losing control several times.

Dian suppressed the overwhelming desire raging inside him. Using every ounce of restraint he possessed, he finally forced himself to pull away from Nina.

He carefully finished helping her bathe before carrying her back to the bedroom.

After gently placing her on the bed, he looked at her with cautious longing and softly pleaded,

"Nina... can I stay with you tonight?"

Nina pinched his soft cheek lightly. "You can."

A sweet smile instantly bloomed across Dian’s face. He wrapped Nina tightly in his arms and closed his eyes in contentment.

Nina... I hope I can still hold you like this in the future.

Nina did not fall asleep immediately. Instead, she sank her consciousness into the system space.

Recalling everything Keil had told her earlier, she asked Little Bun,

"Little Bun, are there any protective shields that can be used in the deep sea? Preferably something resistant to extreme heat and poison, with a long duration."

Keil had warned her that the Abyss of Darkness contained underwater volcanoes, massive schools of highly venomous fish that moved at terrifying speeds, and strange black whirlpools with incredibly powerful suction forces.

Little Bun immediately began searching.

[Yes, Host! There’s a shield that perfectly matches your requirements.]

A display screen appeared before Nina, and she immediately placed the order.

Then she continued, "Are there any powerful weapons? And something that can deal with whirlpools?"

Little Bun searched again.

[There are weapons, yes. As for the whirlpools, there’s only one item that might help—a suction anchor. It can attach itself to objects sturdy enough not to be dragged into the vortex. But if there’s nothing nearby to anchor onto, then it won’t be useful.]

Nina considered it briefly before buying everything anyway.

At this point, she no longer even looked at the prices when purchasing items. Even if they turned out to be useless, it did not matter.

After the purchases were completed, Little Bun suddenly added:

[Host, while you were absorbing the merfolk pearl earlier, I analyzed its energy signature. I discovered that all the energy helping you fuse with the pearl came from Lex. His power seems to share the same origin as the pearl itself.]

Nina frowned. "You’re sure?"

[Of course! I’m a system—my scans are extremely accurate.]

"I understand." Nina lowered her gaze thoughtfully. "Thank you, Little Bun."

[You’re welcome, Host! But after you obtain the sacred artifact, could you catch more sea creatures for the system? Fish from the ocean are very valuable—especially deep-sea ones!]

Now that the system had reached a higher level, upgrading required far more valuable materials than before.

Nina laughed softly.

"Alright. Once everything is finished, I’ll catch plenty of deep-sea fish for you."

[Great! Thank you, Host. Goodnight!]

Little Bun cheerfully disappeared back into streams of data. Nina withdrew from the system space and slowly opened her eyes.

She turned to look at Dian sleeping beside her.

Then she remembered how strange he had behaved all day.

An interesting thought gradually surfaced in her mind.

Could it be... that the merfolk pearl hadn’t belonged to Dian at all, but to Lex?

But if that were true... why would they hide it from her?

She did not wake Dian to question him.

The fusion had already been completed anyway. Whatever answers there were could wait until after they retrieved the sacred artifact.

If she confronted them now, it might only disrupt everyone’s morale before the journey.

Closing her eyes once more, Nina forced herself to rest.

Tomorrow... would likely be a brutal battle.

***

The next morning, Nina woke very early. Once everything was prepared, they all headed toward the shoreline.

Odian gently straightened Nina’s clothes after the sea breeze ruffled them.

"Nina, once you go down there, you must be careful. Protect yourself no matter what."

The other beastmen stepped forward as well, worry written plainly across their faces.

"Nina, you have to come back safely. We’ll be waiting here for you."

As land beastmen, they could not assist her beneath the sea. All they could do was remain behind and pray for her safe return.

Aside from Aviel and Idir, all the other land beastmen stayed behind.

Nina smiled reassuringly. "Don’t worry. I’ll be careful. Take good care of the babies for me."

The beastmen nodded solemnly. "We will."

The little ones waved their tiny paws at her.

Mother, be careful! We’ll wait for you to come back!

Nina smiled and waved back.

Then, together with Dian and the others, she leapt into the sea.