The Sweet Rival (Mango Shen and Nathaniel Ye)

"Mommy, do you want to bust the ghost? I have runes."

Zion poked his head out and took out a yellow paper from his small bag. The paper was filled with runes that were written in cinnabar.

Mango couldn't help but find it a little funny. She reached her hand out and gently tapped his forehead.

"You've gone mad watching TV, haven't you? Where did you get this thing from?"

"An old lady from the Pickwick Lodge Farm gave it to me. She said it can ward off evil spirits."

Zion held his head as he pouted and spoke in an aggrieved manner.

Mango and Noah couldn't help but be stunned.

"The landlady of Pickwick Lodge Farm? Why didn't I recognize that she is a shaman?"

Henry smiled and said, "Mrs. Ye, she's not a shaman. It's almost the Harvest Festival and we have this rule here. We can create some runes and take them with us to keep us safe. It's a kind of psychological comfort to drive out ghosts and evil spirits. It's also some kind of custom."

"I wouldn't have noticed that it is almost time for theHarvest Festival if you hadn't mentioned it."

Mango sighed with emotion.

It had been more than half a year since they came back from the United States. Her relationship with Nathaniel had also stabilized. It was just that they never expected so many hardships to be waiting forthem Mango patted Zion's head and said, "Did you say thank you to the old lady?"

"Of course, I'm a polite and well-mannered child."

Zion said very proudly.

They arrived at the back of the cave as they were chatting and laughing.

This place had little sunlight and it looked a little sinister. Besides, there were weeds all around, and they were very tall. In fact, they were almost taller than Mango's waist.

She could not help but feel a little worried.

"Will there be anything within such tall weeds?"

"It's okay. We have the pills."

Mango found Zion's words to be ridiculously funny.

Then, Noah suddenly noticed something.

"Come here, guys. Is this a sign that earth here

has been moved?"

With Zion in her arms, Mango hurriedly walked over together with Henry after she heard what Noah said.

The weeds here had been cleared and there was a small mound of soil. It seemed to have been dug up not long ago, or perhaps...

"Is this Aiden's tomb?"

Mango made a bold guess.

Henry thought about it carefully and said, "It should be. I only heard from my parents said that it is in the rear of Lothaneland. He could only be buried here because he's not someone from the village. Only people from the village would be buried facing the sun."

"The soil here has been touched. It's very fresh."

Noah squatted down and reached for a handful of dirt to observe.

Then, Mango's heart suddenly ached.

"Could Nathan be buried here?"

"It's impossible. How could Mr. Ye be buried in the ground? He is so skilled."

As soon as Zion finished speaking, he saw Mango's gaze fixed at him. There was a hint of unhappiness and anger in her eyes.

He quickly covered his mouth and whispered,

"Sorry, mommy, I just don't think Mr. Ye will be hurt."

"There is no absolute certainty in the world. Don't be blinded by your arrogance and self-confidence."

Mango wasn't trying to criticize Zion, it was just that the fear in her heart was very strong.

"No, I have to dig here. I can only leave this place in peace after I do that."

Mango squatted down and began to remove the soil with her hands after she finished her words.

"Mrs. Ye, we have a shovel. Zion's brought one."

Henry couldn't help but feel touched by Mango's actions.

Mango recalled that Zion had brought a lot of things with him when he left the house. It was lucky that she did not have the time to ask him to put them back at the time.

"Give it to me."

"Let me do it. You wouldn't know how to handle it if there really is a person buried alive here. Don't injure Nathan."

Mango paused for a moment after hearing Noah's words. She then nodded silently and stood to the side. However, her chest was still tightly clenched. Could it be Nathaniel?

Logically speaking, Nathaniel wouldn't be buried as he was very good at self-defense. However, Mango felt that she had no guarantees here. Noah's movements were much more professional than Mango's.

After some digging, Mango saw the hem of someone's clothes and she was frightened when she saw this.

"Nathan!"

She ran there, ignoring Zion, Noah, and the others who tried to stop her. She dug the dirt like crazy.

It didn't take long for the person inside to be pulled out. However, it wasn't Nathaniel, but Aiden.

Aiden's limbs were tied up with Nathaniel's shirt, and he'd almost suffocated to death inside. Now, he finally got some fresh air this time and he gasped desperately.

Mango and Noah were both stunned.

Zion heaved a huge sigh of relief.

"I knew it. Mr. Ye wouldn't be buried so easily."

Mango grabbed Aiden's collar and asked anxiously, "Where's Nathan? Where did you take him?"

Just when Aiden had finally got some air to breathe, he nearly suffocated again when Mango pulled his collar.

He said with a flushed neck, "Look at me, you can tell that I failed to do anything to him. He is a devil!"

"Devil? You have not seen him when he's really gone berserk. I'll ask again, where is Nathaniel?"

"I don't know, but he's been poisoned. You guys are really skilled to be able to find this place. However, he might be dead when you manage to find him. He was poisoned by the toxin that I personally created. I've finally taken my revenge after so many years!"

Aiden laughed wildly as soon as he finished speaking.

Mango was in a state of pa after she heard that Nathaniel had been poisoned.

"Are you out of your mind? Nathan has nothing against you. Why did you poison him?"

"No? He is the child of Madie and that man! He should have died. Madie wouldn't have divorced me back then if it weren't for this child. Ahem!"

Aiden coughed violently as he got agitated.

Mango was suddenly stunned.

"What did you say? You said Madeline was pregnant before she left?" "Of course, why do you think she was spared? It was because she snuck out and went to see that man that night. Otherwise, how could she have escaped the disaster in the village?"

Aiden's words made Mango's eyes narrow a little.

"You should have died when the disaster happened in the village. So did you fake your own death?"

"Yes, I did."

Since things had developed until this point, Aiden refused to hide it any longer.

"I was poisoned at that time, and I wanted to die together with Madie. However, I didn't expect that there was an antidote in her body. I was about to die, but my stepfather did not rescue me because of what I did. I still remember how he cursed me with failure to reincarnate, and that I would not be able to be with Madie for the rest of my life. I hated him from that moment on. Plus, our marriage was arranged by him. However, he never helped me when his daughter fell in love with others and wanted to divorce me. Nobody in the village treated me as a part of them. They treated me as an outsider even when I grew up here. They never blamed Madeline even when she had an affair. Didn't they say that there's a rule in the village stating that people from the village couldn't marry an outsider? Why did they have double standards for Madeline? Was it because her

parents were the leaders of this village?"

Aiden raised his voice as he spoke, which caused him to cough.

Henry frowned. Apparently, this version was not the same as what he heard from his parents.

Noah stood there coldly, shielding Zion behind him.

After Mango heard this, she suddenly said, "Are you the one who brought outsiders to destroy the village? This was because you began to hate everyone in the village from then on. Furthermore, you hated your stepfather and Madeline."

"That's right!"

Aiden admitted it.

"They buried me here when I was close to death. I don't even get to be buried together with the villagers even if I die. They never treated me as one of them. If that is the case, why should I treat them as my own?"

"Didn't you come here to find the blue nymph grass? It's great, and it saved my life, but I couldn't get married or have kids for the rest of my life because of this."

Aiden's eyes were a little resentful.

"Why could Madeline still have grandchildren to take care of her in her old age even if she had betrayed me? Why am I the only one who ends up like this? I can't accept this! I have been hiding in this cave after Madeline got cured by my stepfather. I see her secretly leaving the cave to find that wild man, and even witness them having sex in the cave with my own eyes. She is my fiance! But she got pregnant immediately after I died. Do you know how I felt when I heard her telling that guy the news of her pregnancy? I couldn't wait to rush out and kill him!"

Aiden became more angry as he spoke, and his eyes were bloodshot.

Mango, Noah, and the others weren't in the position to say anything about this.

Mango looked at Aiden and asked, "Where is Nathan?"

"Find him yourself!"

Aiden became increasingly gleeful, with a morbid smile on his face.

Mango was extremely anxious. However, she knew that there was no point in being worried now. They might not be able to find Nathaniel even if they combed every inch of the mountain if Aiden refused to tell them.

Henry suddenly asked, "Mrs. Ye, are you looking for the blue nymph grass?"

"Yes, lam."

Mango hated herself so much right now.

Nathaniel wouldn't have come here to look for the blue nymph grass if it wasn't to cure her throat. Then, he wouldn't have met Aiden, and things wouldn't have ended up like this.

It would be fine if nothing happened to Nathaniel. However, if something really happened to him...

Mango's expression changed as he looked at Aiden.

Her eyes were cold and gloomy, and Aiden involuntarily made a gesture with trembling hands.

"What do you want to do?"

"You'd better pray that Nathaniel isn't hurt. Otherwise, I'll cut your flesh off piece by piece and feed it to the animals here. I'm serious."

Not only did Mango's words scare Aiden, but it also caused Henry to shiver.

However, Noah knew that Mango really had the ability to do so.

Nathaniel was Mango's weak spot and also her bottom line. Mango might go crazy if anything happened to Nathaniel, and she might do something equally insane too.

"Okay, let's find Nathan as soon as possible."

Noah finally said something.

Henry paused and said, "I think I know where Mr.

Ye is if you're here for the blue nymph grass."