After Giving Birth, All My Beast Ex-Husbands Suddenly Want Me Back-Chapter 29: The ceremony

As soon as he took a step forward, Mino sealed the doorway with a thick layer of ice.

"With me here, don’t even think about disturbing Nina."

Sal glared furiously at Mino, bared his teeth, then unwillingly returned to the cat bed. He still wasn’t a match for this stinking male.

The night passed without incident.

Over the next three days, the two beasts behaved themselves a bit more. There were occasional minor frictions, but at least they didn’t come to blows again.

Nina was quite relieved, feeling that having them sleep together had helped somewhat.

At noon, just after Nina woke from her nap, a male from the tribe came to the stone house.

"Is the female Nina here?" the male asked.

Mino came out of his room first. "What do you need her for? She’s taking a nap—don’t wake her."

The male looked at Mino. "Mino, the chief sent me. Several tribes are holding a God-Offering Ceremony this afternoon. All beastfolk currently in the tribe must attend. The chief asked me to come get her. Since you’re back, you should come as well."

The God-Offering Ceremony was a blessing ritual in the beast world—an important, solemn event meant to worship the Beast God and pray for blessings.

"But Nina isn’t very well right now," Mino said. "Can you tell the chief she doesn’t have to attend?"

The ceremony would take quite some time, and Mino was worried Nina would get too tired.

"What’s not well about her?" the male replied impatiently. "Even Dora, with such a big belly, is attending. If you want to stay on good terms in the tribe, you should go."

"I’ll ask Nina first," Mino said, walking to Nina’s room and asking softly, "Nina, are you awake?"

Nina had heard the conversation outside. She didn’t really want to attend, but if she didn’t go, it might cause dissatisfaction among the tribe and lead to unnecessary trouble.

"I’m up. You can come in," Nina replied.

Mino lifted the curtain and entered. "Nina, do you want to go? If you don’t, we won’t."

"It’s fine. Let’s go," Nina said.

She put on her face covering and was about to head out when Sal tugged lightly at her hide skirt, clearly wanting to go along.

Nina picked him up and went outside.

The male escorting them was startled when he saw Nina come out—he hadn’t expected her to be a pregnant female—but he didn’t say anything more and led them to the ceremony site.

Mino shifted into his beast form, and Nina sat on his back.

The ceremony was held on a vast open ground. In the center stood a large altar, with a towering stone statue depicting a male beastman with half-beast features.

On the altar was a huge stone basin, along with many beast hides and bones. A shaman wearing a feathered headdress, his face painted in vivid colors, was arranging the offerings.

In front of the altar stood two rows of males, carrying living wild beasts and demonic beasts tied to wooden poles.

By the time Nina arrived, many beastfolk had already gathered. Members of different tribes stood in their own designated areas.

The crowd was dense. Mino carefully shielded Nina, making sure she wasn’t jostled.

But just as they were about to reach the Songstone Tribe’s area, several males passed close by. One of them bumped into Nina, and Sal angrily swiped that male with his claw.

The male immediately flew into a rage. "You damned wild cat cub! How dare you scratch me!"

Mino glared at him coldly. "You were the one who bumped into Nina first. You deserved to be scratched."

The surrounding beastfolk all looked over. The male seemed to have some reservations; he didn’t pursue the matter further. He glared at Sal once, then left.

Nina held Sal’s paw and scolded him, "You’re not allowed to scratch people casually."

Sal buried his face in Nina’s arms and ignored her.

If anyone dared to bump into his little female again, he’d claw them to death.

When Dora saw Nina get down from Mino’s back and noticed her swollen belly, a trace of viciousness flashed in her eyes.

Could it be that Nina was carrying Mino’s cub, and that was why Mino treated this ugly female so well?

No—impossible. When Nina arrived, Mino had already left. If it were Mino’s cub, how could he have left her alone in the tribe for so many days? And he hadn’t even bonded with her.

Aji looked at Nina, a flash of longing passing through his eyes.

He hadn’t seen her for a long time.

Chief Tali was surprised when he saw Nina. He hadn’t expected her to be pregnant—and judging by her belly, it was already quite far along.

Mino was so careful with her. Could she be carrying Mino’s cub? But then why hadn’t they bonded? And why had Mino abandoned her before?

Being able to conceive Mino’s cub meant her fertility must be good, and her scent likely appealing to males. It was a pity she was so ugly—if she were prettier, she would surely have many suitors.

Other members of the Songstone Tribe thought the same when they saw Nina’s belly. They all guessed she was pregnant with Mino’s cub, which was why such a proud male treated an ugly female like her with so much care.

Many males from other tribes suddenly caught a whiff of a sweet, enticing scent and looked over curiously. What they saw was a pregnant female wearing a face covering and holding a "cat cub."

Chief Tali’s attitude toward Nina softened noticeably. "Nina, why didn’t you tell us earlier that you were pregnant? The tribe could have sent you more food."

"Thank you, Chief. I have enough food. I just didn’t want to trouble everyone," Nina replied.

"Taking care of a pregnant female is only right—no trouble at all. If you need anything in the future, just tell me. The tribe will do its best to provide," Chief Tali said.

"Alright, thank you, Chief," Nina replied with a slight nod.

After a while, once all the tribes had finished counting their people, the ceremony officially began.

Everyone stood solemnly facing the altar. The shaman recited a long prayer. When he finished, he raised his hand, signaling the males carrying the wild and demonic beasts to step onto the altar.

They slaughtered the beasts on the spot, letting the blood flow into the stone basin.

Once the offerings were prepared, the males stepped down, and the shaman began performing a ritual dance.

Nina began to feel tired from standing and couldn’t help rubbing her lower back.

Mino gently drew her closer, letting her lean against him. Sal was no longer in her arms; instead, he had quietly curled up at her feet.

After a long stretch of ritual dancing, the shaman began chanting and bowing in worship.

Then suddenly—boom—a small section of the statue’s forearm broke off and fell.

The beastfolk below the altar immediately panicked.

"The statue cracked—the Beast God is angry. This is an ill omen!"

"How could this happen? Who angered the Beast God?"

"What do we do? Will we be punished?"

...

Chaos erupted beneath the altar. Only Dora and several of her beast husbands remained calm.

The shaman stood up and shouted, "Silence!"

The crowd immediately quieted.

In the beast world, shamans held a high status. They were believed to be messengers of the Beast God, wielders of mysterious shamanic powers, even capable of communicating with the deity.

In this land that worshipped the Beast God, they were deeply respected.

The shaman stared at the fallen forearm of the statue, his brows knitted tightly.

What was going on? The Beast God statue had always been well protected, and there hadn’t been a single mistake during the ritual—so why had the statue’s arm suddenly broken?