Jiang Man had seen this sort of thing—a Spiritual Steed falling ill and collapsing—once before, on the second day after he got married.
Last time, it was Fang Yong who had framed him.
He had probably been dragged into it by accident back then.
The initial reason was likely that Young Master Cheng and his friends wanted to toy with Fang Yong, using the Weakness Stage as a pretext to watch the show.
But this time...
'This probably isn't a Weakness Stage.'
Jiang Man examined the Spiritual Steed closely. Its body was twitching, its coat was a mess, and its entire form looked dull and lifeless.
Although its condition was similar to the Flame-Stepping Spiritual Steed from before, it was also completely different.
This Spiritual Steed was struggling to breathe, weak and short of breath. It wasn't just physical discomfort; it looked like a case of poisoning.
This was definitely done on purpose.
He had raised horses for many years and had a fair amount of experience.
'I shouldn't linger here.'
Just as Jiang Man was about to leave, Young Master Cheng and his group suddenly appeared.
"What happened?" The short Young Master Yang spotted the Spiritual Steed on the ground right away and asked in a low voice.
At that moment, he acted like he was easy to talk to.
Jiang Man glanced at them.
There were three of them in total.
The one in the lead was, as usual, Cheng Moyang.
Standing beside him was the short Young Master Yang from before.
The other was, surprisingly, the third-ranked disciple of the Sixth Courtyard, Chang Qiweng.
As soon as they arrived, Fang Yong immediately turned to Jiang Man and accused him, "Jiang Man, what did you put in the fodder?"
This time, he genuinely seemed to believe it.
"It has nothing to do with me," Jiang Man replied.
Young Master Yang walked over to the fodder, inspected it, and frowned. "The fodder is poisoned."
As he spoke, he took out a Talisman and placed it on the fodder.
Sure enough, black smoke seeped out of the Talisman.
It was indeed poisoned.
He then turned to Fang Yong and said amicably, "Young Master Fang, this happened on your watch. You'd better explain yourself."
Hearing this, Fang Yong pointed the finger at Jiang Man. "Jiang Man, what do you have to say for yourself? The fodder is from your stable, and the problem happened here. Aren't you going to come over and apologize?"
Seeing this, Chang Qiweng, who had come with them, looked at Fang Yong and said, "How is just an apology enough? This is a genuine poisoning. Young Master Cheng is the one who has suffered a loss."
"He can choose not to pursue it, but you can't be unreasonable."
"This calls for compensation."
"Besides, Young Master Fang failed to discover the problem in advance, so he can't escape the blame either."
He then looked at Cheng Moyang and asked, "What do you think, Young Master Cheng?"
Cheng Moyang looked at him and smiled. "Young Master Chang makes a good point. I'll leave it to you to handle."
Hearing this, Chang Qiweng relaxed considerably. He then turned to Jiang Man. "Do you know the price of this Spiritual Steed? Do you have any idea what price you'll have to pay for poisoning it?"
"You could raise horses your whole life and still not be able to afford a single one of Young Master Cheng's saddles."
Jiang Man looked at him and asked, "Young Master Chang, what makes you think this has anything to do with me?"
"If it has nothing to do with you, what are you doing here?" Chang Qiweng retorted, staring at Jiang Man. "If you didn't poison it, why did it collapse in your stable and not someone else's?"
Jiang Man frowned. This was just twisting logic.
Even Fang Yong wasn't this obnoxious.
"I'm just a stable hand. Can I even afford poison?" Jiang Man shot back.
"Isn't there someone sponsoring you? Perhaps you tricked her into giving you the poison?" Chang Qiweng paused, then continued, "Besides, the facts are right in front of us. The Spiritual Steed had an accident here, and there's a problem with your fodder. If it wasn't you, who could it be?"
"Young Master Cheng hasn't even said anything, and you're already trying to shirk responsibility."
"Is this your idea of a remorseful attitude?"
As he spoke, he took a step forward, ready to make a move.
But he hesitated slightly, glancing at Young Master Cheng and the others.
Seeing this, Young Master Yang said with a smile, "Be bold. After all, we're just seeking justice. If any trouble arises, I'll take the blame."
With that, Chang Qiweng cast aside his worries. He took a step forward and glanced at Fang Yong. "Young Master Fang, you also bear some responsibility this time. Shouldn't you make the main culprit give us a proper account?"
The moment he finished speaking, he activated Divine Step, and the Six Harmonies Palm followed.
He struck at Jiang Man.
Six large Palm Seals appeared, blocking Jiang Man's escape route.
Jiang Man: "..."
The qualification competition was imminent. Fighting here would get them disqualified.
He immediately tried to tell him.
However, Chang Qiweng said with disdain, "With Young Master Cheng here, that's not a problem. You'll never understand how vast the gap is between you and him."
Facing the Attack, Jiang Man activated his own Six Harmonies Palm, and six large Palm Seals also appeared around him.
As the Palm Seals collided, Chang Qiweng closed in, channeling Three Talents Force for another Attack.
Jiang Man used Divine Step to evade, but he was quickly forced back.
At the Qi Refining Sixth Layer, it was impossible to fight him head-on.
Their Qi Cultivation Skill, Qi Blood Technique, and Magic Skill were all the same.
But his level was lower than his opponent's.
He was completely suppressed.
'So much for being an Unparalleled Celestial Pride.'
"Mr. Zhao," Jiang Man suddenly called out, looking behind Chang Qiweng.
The latter turned around in surprise.
He found that Zhao Leming was not there.
Realizing he had been tricked, he turned back just in time to see Jiang Man fleeing with Divine Step.
Without further hesitation, he immediately gave chase.
'His Cultivation is lower than mine. I'll catch him soon.'
Watching them disappear into the distance, Young Master Yang looked at Fang Yong. "Aren't you going to catch the poisoner, Young Master Fang? Or could it be that you're the poisoner?"
Hearing this, Fang Yong immediately said, "I'll go catch him and bring him back right now."
Once Fang Yong had given chase, Young Master Yang chuckled. "When poor people run into this kind of trouble, they really do only know how to shirk responsibility. They'll even turn on each other to do it."
"Dignity is hardly as important as avoiding compensation."
Cheng Moyang watched Chang Qiweng give chase and remarked, "Young Master Chang is being a bit too eager."
"Isn't that normal?" Young Master Yang said with a laugh. "Countless people would kill for a chance to perform in front of you, Young Master Cheng."
Cheng Moyang paid it no mind, smiling as he said, "Those three are probably going to get arrested. We likely won't see them for the next few months. Let's go back."
Young Master Yang said regretfully, "It's a shame. That's three interesting poor fellows gone just like that. And to think they're from the same courtyard."
"We'll just have to wait until they get out to tell them that if it weren't for Young Master Cheng, they would have been expelled directly from the Yunqian Bureau."
After that, the two of them called someone over to take the Spiritual Steed away.
As for Jiang Man and the other two, they had already put them out of their minds.
Fighting rashly within the Yunqian Bureau would result in punishment, a penalty that required a considerable price to remove.
They wouldn't really go to such lengths for a couple of poor guys.
「Meanwhile.」
A disheveled Jiang Man ran into the guards' post.
And so, the fleeing Jiang Man, his pursuer Chang Qiweng, and Fang Yong who had joined the chase, were all arrested.
「The Law Enforcement Department.」
The three of them—Jiang Man, Fang Yong, and Chang Qiweng—were detained and interrogated separately.
"So, you're the one who poisoned the Spiritual Steed?" the interrogator asked disdainfully.
'Being poor is one thing, but having no backbone is the worst.'
"It wasn't me," Jiang Man replied.
"But they both said it was you."
"And are they right?"
"Then how are you so sure it wasn't you?"
Jiang Man was silent for a moment before asking, "So, will you investigate?"
"If you deny it, we naturally have to investigate," the interrogator said.
"How long will the investigation take?" Jiang Man asked.
"About three months," the interrogator said. "The matter will be concluded within that timeframe. Since you're denying it and we lack direct evidence, you'll naturally be cleared."
"Can I leave here during those three months?" Jiang Man asked again.
"Of course not," the interrogator replied.
Jiang Man: "..."