novelraw Chapter 29: Fight, it's on me.
Chapter 29: Fight, it's on me.
The spiritual steed had fallen ill and collapsed. Jiang Man had witnessed this exact scenario once before, on the very second day after his wedding.
That time, Fang Yong had framed him.
Back then, he had likely been accidentally dragged into the situation.
The original cause was probably Young Master Cheng and his group wanting to bully and harass Fang Yong, using the weak period as their entertainment.
But this time...
It probably wasn't the weak period.
Jiang Man carefully examined the spiritual steed. Its body was convulsing, its fur was messy and unkempt, and its entire form appeared dull and lifeless.
Although it looked similar to the previous Flame-Treading Spiritual Steed situation, it was completely different.
This spiritual steed was breathing laboriously, weak and short of breath. This wasn't merely physical discomfort—it showed signs of poisoning.
This was absolutely man-made.Having raised horses for many years, he had accumulated some experience.
This wasn't a good place to linger.
Just as Jiang Man was about to leave, Young Master Cheng and his companions suddenly appeared quickly.
"What happened here?" The short Young Master Yang was the first to spot the spiritual steed on the ground and questioned softly.
At this moment, he appeared like a very reasonable person.
Jiang Man glanced at them.
There were three people in total.
The leader was still Cheng Moyang.
Standing beside him was the previously mentioned short Young Master Yang.
And surprisingly, the third person was Chang Qiwen, who ranked third in the Sixth Courtyard.
As they arrived, Fang Yong immediately looked at Jiang Man and accused, "Jiang Man, what did you put in the fodder?"
This time, he genuinely believed this.
"It has nothing to do with me," Jiang Man replied.
Young Master Yang approached the fodder, inspected it, furrowed his brow and said, "The fodder is poisoned."
As he spoke, he took out a talisman and attached it to the fodder.
Sure enough, black energy emerged from the talisman.
It was indeed poisoned.
He then turned to look at Fang Yong and said amiably, "Young Master Fang, this incident occurred under your supervision. You need to provide a clear explanation."
Hearing this, Fang Yong pointed the blame at Jiang Man: "Jiang Man, what more do you have to say? The fodder belongs to your stable, and the problem appeared here. Why aren't you coming over to apologize?"
Seeing this, Chang Qiwen, who had come with them, looked at Fang Yong and said, "A simple apology is nowhere near enough. This is confirmed poisoning, and Young Master Cheng is the one suffering the loss."
"He might not hold it against you, but you shouldn't be ignorant of basic principles."
"This requires compensation."
"Moreover, Young Master Fang failed to detect the problem in advance and cannot escape responsibility either."
As he spoke, he looked at Cheng Moyang and said, "What does Young Master Cheng think?"
Cheng Moyang looked at him with a slight smile and said, "Young Master Chang speaks reasonably. Then I'll leave this matter for you to handle."
Hearing this, Chang Qiwen felt considerably more at ease. He then looked at Jiang Man and said, "Do you know the price of this spiritual steed? Do you understand what penalty poisoning a spiritual steed carries?"
"You could raise horses your entire life and still not afford even one of Young Master Cheng's saddles."
Jiang Man looked at him and said, "How is Young Master Chang so certain this matter is related to me?"
"If it's unrelated, why are you here?" Chang Qiwen stared at Jiang Man. "If you didn't harm it, why did it collapse in your stable instead of someone else's?"
Jiang Man frowned. This was just unreasonable pestering.
Even Fang Yong wasn't this detestable.
"I'm just a horse caretaker. Could I afford poison?" Jiang Man retorted.
"Didn't someone sponsor you? Maybe you swindled the poison from her?" Chang Qiwen paused briefly before continuing, "Besides, the facts are right before our eyes. The spiritual steed fell ill at your place, and your fodder is problematic. If it's not you, then who could it be?"
"Young Master Cheng hasn't even said anything yet, and you're already evading responsibility."
"Is this your attitude toward admitting fault?"
As he spoke, he took a step forward, ready to take action.
He just hesitated slightly and glanced toward Young Master Cheng and the others.
Seeing this, Young Master Yang smiled and said, "Be bold. After all, we're seeking justice. If any problems arise, I'll take responsibility."
Only then did Chang Qiwen set aside his concerns. He stepped forward and simultaneously looked at Fang Yong: "Young Master Fang, you share responsibility this time too. Shouldn't we demand justice from the mastermind?"
As his words fell, he activated Divine Movement Steps, and Six Harmonies Palm immediately manifested.
He struck toward Jiang Man.
Six large palm seals surrounded Jiang Man, blocking his escape routes.
Jiang Man: "..."
With the qualification competition imminent, fighting here would lead to disqualification.
He immediately spoke up to inform them.
However, Chang Qiwen scoffed, "With Young Master Cheng here, that's not a problem. You'll never comprehend the vast gap between yourself and Young Master Cheng."
Facing the attack, Jiang Man channeled Six Harmonies Palm, and six large palm seals similarly appeared around him.
Using this.
As the palm seals collided, Chang Qiwen closed in, activated Three Talents Force, and attacked.
Jiang Man used Divine Movement Steps to evade, but was quickly forced back.
At the sixth level of Qi Refinement, he stood no chance of winning outright.
Their cultivation methods were identical, their Blood Qi Methods were the same, and their techniques were equivalent.
His cultivation level was inferior to his opponent's.
He was completely suppressed.
This was rather disgraceful for someone touted as a peerless genius.
"Teacher Zhao," Jiang Man immediately called out while looking behind Chang Qiwen.
The latter turned in surprise.
Discovering that Zhao Leming wasn't actually behind him.
Realizing he'd been tricked, he turned back just in time to see Jiang Man using Divine Movement Steps to flee rapidly.
Without further hesitation, he immediately gave chase.
His opponent's cultivation was inferior to his own; he would catch up quickly.
Watching the distant figures, Young Master Yang looked at Fang Yong: "Young Master Fang, aren't you planning to capture the poisoner? Or are you saying you're the one who poisoned the steed?"
Hearing this, Fang Yong immediately said, "I'll go catch him right now."
After Fang Yong ran off in pursuit, Young Master Yang laughed, "When poor people encounter such situations, they inevitably just shift blame, even turning against each other without hesitation."
"Dignity is nowhere near as important as avoiding compensation."
Cheng Moyang watched Chang Qiwen chasing after them and remarked, "Young Master Chang is being rather overly enthusiastic."
"Isn't that perfectly normal?" Young Master Yang said with a smile. "How many people would jump at the chance to perform in front of Young Master Cheng?"
Cheng Moyang didn't seem concerned and said with a laugh, "Those three will probably be detained. We likely won't see them for several months. Let's head back."
Young Master Yang sighed regretfully, "We directly lost three interesting poor people. What a pity, and they're even from the same courtyard."
"We'll just have to wait until they're released to tell them that if it weren't for Young Master Cheng, they would have been directly expelled from the Cloud Front Division."
Afterward, the two called people over to take the spiritual steed away.
As for Jiang Man and the other two, they no longer concerned themselves with them.
Acting rashly within the Cloud Front Division would incur punishment, and removing such penalties required significant resources.
They certainly wouldn't genuinely expend such effort for one or two poor individuals.
Meanwhile.
Jiang Man scrambled into the guard station in disarray.
Then he, the fleeing one; Chang Qiwen, the pursuer; and Fang Yong, who had joined mid-chase—all were captured.
Enforcement Division.
Jiang Man and the other two were separately confined and interrogated.
"So you're the one who poisoned the spiritual steed?" the interrogator asked disdainfully.
Poor people themselves weren't the issue; the worst were those without backbone like this.
"It wasn't me," Jiang Man replied.
"But they all say it was you."
"Are they correct, then?"
"Then how can you be sure it wasn't you?"
Jiang Man remained silent for a moment before asking, "Will you investigate?"
"If you deny it, we naturally have to investigate," the interrogator stated.
"How long will the investigation take?" Jiang Man inquired.
"About three months. This matter will be resolved within three months. If you deny it and we lack direct investigative evidence, you'll naturally be cleared," the interrogator explained.
"Can I leave here during these three months?" Jiang Man asked again.
"Certainly not," the interrogator replied.
Jiang Man: "..."