Andrew was stunned for a moment. He hadn't expected Ed to dare draw his blade against him. After all, this was Dorey City, and he was the son of Gavin, the Lord of Dorey City!

For an ordinary Hunter to draw a weapon against him was sheer audacity!

The anger in Andrew's chest caused his heart to race, and his breathing became shallow and quick. However, what Ed said next managed to calm him down.

Ed looked at Andrew with some curiosity and spoke in a calm tone, "I didn't expect the son of Dorey City's lord to have an interest in medicine as well. I'm quite curious, though, why are you so certain that the diseases occurring between warhorses are always different?"

Andrew was momentarily stunned. His pupils contracted slightly, and he forced a smile, his tone losing its previous arrogance and instead becoming somewhat tense as he replied, "Well, I only heard it from a doctor at the apothecary. Is there a problem?"

Ed smiled. This explanation could account for the question he had just asked, but Andrew's slightly unusual behavior now was not so easily explained.

Ed then turned and walked over to the man holding his wife, gently asking, "May I take a look at your warhorse? It might cause a small wound."

The man's eyes immediately brightened, and the despair that had been evident on his face vanished. He nodded vigorously, his gaze toward Ed filled with hope, as though he had just seen a lifeline.

Once the warhorse owner gave his permission, Ed approached the black warhorse with a white lightning-shaped pattern on its forehead without hesitation. He had always found this warhorse a little odd.

Previously, when practicing the Moonlight Meditation Technique to enhance his strength, he had received a Low-Level Monster Codex, which recorded various monsters Ed had already encountered, like wild wolves and griffins.

In addition to those, the Low-Level Monster Codex also detailed the habits, appearances, features, and weaknesses of other low-level creatures.

This warhorse seemed to resemble the hybrid warhorse described in the Codex, a product of crossbreeding between a normal warhorse and a horse-like monster. Not only did it possess some intelligence, but it was also immune to diseases and had powerful explosive strength.

The method of identification was simple enough.

Ed gently tapped the black warhorse's skull, signaling it to lift one of its hooves.

The warhorse, entirely black except for the white lightning-shaped pattern on its forehead, quickly understood Ed's gesture and slowly raised its left front hoof.

Ed carefully used the steel sword in his hand to make a tiny incision just above the black warhorse's left front hoof, and a few drops of fresh blood immediately appeared.

Then, Ed switched the steel sword for the Mithril sword, allowing it to come into contact with the warhorse's blood. After a few breaths, the fresh blood on the Mithril sword began to turn black.

This confirmed that Ed's guess had been correct—the warhorse indeed contained the bloodline of a monster, which caused the Mithril to react.

This warhorse was a hybrid, and a particularly well-bred one at that. Its intelligence was comparable to that of a young child.

Ed had not expected such a fortunate turn of events. If he had delayed any longer at Hurricane Horsewalk, this warhorse might have already been taken away by the market staff.

Fortunately, he hadn't settled for purchasing a warhorse at Hurricane Horsewalk just to make do, and now he was somewhat grateful to Andrew for not letting the owner of Hurricane Horsewalk sell him a fairly decent warhorse.

While Ed was doing this, Andrew had begun to grow impatient. He signaled the staff with a glance, urging them to hurry and take the three warhorses away to be disposed of.

Ed slowly turned around, his mind reviewing the information about hybrid warhorses. These creatures, the result of crossbreeding between horse-like monsters and normal warhorses, were immune to disease, so there was no need to treat them for an infection.

Ed then spoke directly, "Andrew, you just said that warhorses with infectious diseases must be taken away for quarantine and treatment. Is that regulation applicable to warhorses that aren't sick?"

Andrew quickly understood what Ed was implying. He sneered and replied, "Whether they're sick or not depends on whether they show symptoms. Even if they don't show symptoms, they still need to be tested by a doctor."

"You must know," he continued with a mocking tone, "the test results. Can you guess what they'll be?"

Andrew's words were clear. The apothecaries in Dorey City that treated warhorse diseases were all owned by the Lord's Mansion. The doctors who conducted the tests were naturally employees of the Lord's Mansion. When the results came in, the diagnosis would be whatever they said it was.

That was why Andrew had said earlier that if a warhorse was diagnosed with an infectious disease, then it would have one!

Ed, however, smiled. If the black warhorse were a normal warhorse, it would indeed be helpless in this situation.

Fortunately, this was an extraordinary hybrid warhorse.

If the doctor Andrew called in could somehow detect an infection on a warhorse that was clearly incapable of being infected, Ed would just have to explain the situation. This would surely make the onlookers realize that the doctors from the apothecaries of the Lord's Mansion were fabricating lies.

Thinking about what was about to unfold, Ed felt that Andrew was digging his own grave.

The merchants who had previously been forced to spend large amounts of gold to purchase potions after their warhorses tested positive for an infectious disease would undoubtedly be unable to accept such a situation. They would be wondering if their own warhorses had also been misdiagnosed, and they had wasted so much gold for no reason at all!

At this moment, Andrew was unaware of Ed's thoughts. He merely watched as Ed wore a calm smile, and suddenly, he felt a little uneasy.

Especially when, at that moment, Ed淡ly said to him, "Call the doctor over for a test. If there's nothing wrong with this warhorse, then there's no need to buy any potions."

Afterward, Andrew watched as Ed completely ignored him and turned to discuss something with the warhorse's owner.

Andrew was deeply confused. He couldn't understand why Ed insisted on having the doctor test the warhorse. Ed had already made himself clear: regardless of whether the warhorse was infected or not, the test results would definitely show it had a disease!

Unless, of course, Ed could present irrefutable evidence.

But was that even possible?

What if it was possible?

Just as Andrew began to sense that something wasn't quite right, a voice that had been haunting him for some time suddenly rang out.

Melissa's voice appeared, saying, "Ed? What's going on? Did something happen?"

Upon hearing Melissa's gentle and concerned voice, Andrew immediately turned to look in the direction of the sound. There, he saw Melissa, her platinum blonde hair elegantly styled into an updo, wearing a light red dress that accentuated her perfect figure.

Her soft blue eyes, paired with high cheekbones and a face with distinct, angular features, were exceptionally captivating, leaving one entranced.

Without thinking, Andrew instinctively responded, "Nothing, just…"

But before he could finish, he suddenly realized that Melissa hadn't called his name—she had called Ed's!

Ed!

Andrew watched as Melissa, as if she couldn't see him at all, walked past him and went straight to Ed. On her face, which was usually expressionless toward him, a look of concern appeared.

This concern wasn't directed at him, but at Ed!

Andrew clenched his fists, breathing deeply, trying to maintain his inner calm.

What happened next pushed Andrew's anger to its absolute peak.

In response to Melissa's question and concern, Ed remained exceptionally calm, not the least bit excited. He simply answered淡ly, "Nothing. Just out for a walk and came across a nice warhorse."

Inside, Andrew was screaming, "How can he be so calm! That's Melissa! My goddess!"

He could only dream that Melissa might show concern for him, and if she did, he would be ecstatic!

Andrew took another deep breath as he looked at Iris standing next to Ed. Soon, Melissa would realize that there were other women around Ed. She would undoubtedly slap him across the face and storm off in anger.

At that point, all Andrew would need to do was catch up to Melissa, then patiently and gently comfort her. He was certain it would win her over!

Sure enough, Melissa's gaze shifted to Iris. She stared at her for a moment before suddenly smiling and saying, "Hello, my name is Melissa. You must be Ed's friend."

Iris instinctively reached out her hand to shake Melissa's, a bit confused by the situation, and replied, "Hello, I'm Iris. It's nice to meet you."

This scene left Andrew completely stunned. He couldn't help but wonder—could Melissa and Ed simply be ordinary friends? Had he misunderstood everything?

Just then, Ed turned his body and spoke to Andrew, who was still in a bit of a daze, "If you don't call the doctor over to do the test soon, I'll be taking these three warhorses and leaving."

Melissa looked at Ed with some confusion and asked, "A test? What kind of test?"

Andrew quickly caught on and answered before Ed could respond, "Lady Melissa, it's like this. Recently, an infectious disease has appeared in the city. Warhorses with the disease must either be treated with potions or be taken away for disposal."

"This Mr. Ed here believes that this warhorse is not infected, doesn't want to purchase any potions for it, and refuses to allow our staff to take the warhorse away."

Ed listened to Andrew's words and nearly laughed out loud. What a twisted man he was! Before Melissa had arrived, Andrew had claimed that the apothecaries at the Lord's Mansion wouldn't sell him any potions.

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