The Legendary Man

Chapter 851 I Killed Him
With a flick of his hand, Winston cut off a branch that was as thick as his arm.
At the elderly man's question, he hastily spun on his heel and trotted over.
“Of course not, Mr. Quintus. Have you gotten your wires crossed again? We, the Mallory, and Henderson families are all
respectable families. Our ancestral locations can't be made known to outsiders. You were the one who agreed to the
collaboration this time, deciding that we're only to collaborate when making a move. Otherwise, everyone is to keep to
themselves. Do you not remember that?”
In response, the elderly man shook his head slightly.
“No, I don't. I said that?”
While saying that, the elderly man reached up and took the hat off his head.
Glowing white wisps of steam came into sight, and a gray braid a forearm's length tumbled down.
The elderly man lifted an age-weather hand and scratched his head.
“I forgot all about that. Winston, how about I step down from being the patriarch and appoint you instead?” he muttered, his gaze
brimming with bafflement.
Standing at the side, Winston held the elderly man's hat with both hands.
“You've already passed the position of patriarch to Ashton twenty years ago, Mr. Quintus. You can't appoint me now even if you
want to do so.”
“I've already stepped down and appointed someone else?”
The elderly man was stunned at first before he reached out and slapped his forehead.
He then lamented, “Look at my forgetfulness! Yes, you're right. I did that. My memory is regressing every single day.”
Winston stood at the side, not daring to comment on that. He merely stood there silently and kept the elderly man company.

As an elder of the Leeson family in Doveston and a cultivator in the middle phase of Divine Realm, he was exceedingly casual
even when faced with the current patriarch of the Leeson family.
But when it came to the elderly man before him, he dared not show the slightest disrespect.
After all, the elderly man in front of him was none other than the previous patriarch of the Leeson family, Quintus Leeson.
Quintus was already a hundred and twenty years old, a true immortal who spanned two centuries.
His cultivation level had already reached the advanced phase of Divine Realm, and he alone could intimidate many respectable
families and ancient sects within Chanaea. His capabilities were beyond one's imagination.
Verily, he was the true pillar backing up the Leeson family in Doveston.
Alas, he still could not escape the aftereffects of the passing of time despite his high cultivation level and astounding skills.
Thirty years ago, his brain started shrinking, and his memory gradually deteriorated.
Following that, the Leeson family sought out renowned doctors in the whole of Kingshinton. Regretfully, none could provide a
cure in the face of such irreversible brain damage.
If an ordinary person were to contract such a disease, he would have probably lost all reason after about ten years and become
an empty shell with no sanity.
Quintus, however, had managed to hold out for a whole thirty years, thanks to his high cultivation level.
Nonetheless, they all knew that the man had not much time left.
Right then, he might forget what he said a moment ago in the blink of an eye.
If they could not find an effective remedy, the Leeson family would lose a great backer entirely in the near future.
“Winston.”
Getting to his feet, Quintus turned to Winston beside him and called out to the latter.
“Yes, Mr. Quintus?”
Winston hastened forward with the hat in his hands.

Snagging the hat, Quintus placed it on his head. The look in his eyes was contemplative, and it seemed as though he had
recalled something.
“I remember you previously told me that a member of the Whitley family fled from Yaleview? Was there news afterward?”
“No, Mr. Quintus. All eight respectable families have been looking for Joshua for over a month, but we only learned that he
headed to Merania after leaving. Apart from that, there hadn't been any other news.”
Upon hearing that, Quintus turned to Winston.
“Merania? Why would he go there? Those of the Whitley family like going to Delisgar Ridge. I used to go over to Remdik a lot
when I was young, and I even bumped into them there.”
After saying that, he took the hatchet from the latter's hands.
“Huh? Who cut this tree? It so happens that my great-grandson wants to build a new house. This is perfect for a beam!”
At the sight of Quintus fawning all over the ancient tree, everyone exchanged a glance and smiled helplessly.
Oh well, he has again forgotten everything that happened just a while ago.
Winston stared at the elderly man's back, his brows creased deeply. Subsequently, something seemingly occurred to him, and
he trotted forward.
“Mr. Quintus, you said you bumped into those from the Whitley family in Delisgar Ridge when you were young?”
“The Whitley family? What Whitley family? Is there anyone with the family name of Whitley in our village?” Quintus asked blankly,
his eyes pinned on Winston.
“Never mind.”
Winston chuckled bitterly, not daring to ask further.
But when Quintus swung the hatchet once more, the man darted off and disappeared into the forest.
I've got to inform Ashton immediately that the Whitley family had been to Delisgar Ridge. This might be the central clue to finding
Joshua!

...
It was the middle of the night then.
In the Eastern Army commander's tent south of River Onxy in Horbah, Hayes sat by the stove with bandages around his body,
reading a report.
Beside the stove was a few baked potatoes with wisps of fragrance wafting off them.
When he had flipped to the final page, he rubbed his eyes at long last. No sooner had he reached out to snag one of the baked
potatoes before him than he flicked his wrist slightly. At once, a pistol slid down his cuff to fall into his hand.
Unfortunately, a dagger was already pressed against his throat by then.
“Your reaction was too slow, Tiger.”
The instant Hayes heard the calm voice behind him, he hurriedly put the pistol away.
“You know my cultivation level isn't high, so don't scare me like that anymore, Mr. Goldstein.”
Toying with the dagger in his hand, Jonathan sat down by the stove.
“Eastern Army is a modernized technological force, so its commander's martial capabilities don't need to be all that high. Just
improve your cultivation gradually. Don't be too hasty, or it'd be bad if you were to enter a frenzied state,” he cautioned smilingly.
Then, he asked, “So, how are things? Do you have problems adapting from suddenly being the army commander of a cutting-
edge force like Eastern Army when you were previously a member of tens of thousands of local troops in Lumonburg?”
Grinning widely, Hayes declared, “Everything is good in terms of the job. I'm still learning about those cutting-edge weapons, but
using them is no longer a problem. The most substantial change, I suppose, is my mental state. Eastern Army is too unique, and
the pressure is too intense.”
By the time he said that, the smile on his face had turned bitter.
“There's Remdik in the north, Jetroina in the east, and Yaleview Army in the southwest. This is downright petrifying. It's only now
that I realize the amount of pressure Karl had been under. If I had been stationed in Doveston for such a long time, I might have
done something even more extreme than he did,” he lamented.

As he spoke, he surreptitiously kept an eye on Jonathan's expression.
Jonathan regarded Hayes icily, his eyes blanketed with a layer of frost.
“Hmm, you want to help your predecessor out when you've just been given the title of Prince of Diyouli? You'd best not play with
fire, Tiger. Some things can never be changed! Where is Karl?”
“I killed him!” Hayes shouted, placing his hands behind his back with his head held high and chest puffed forward.
A powerful surge of spiritual energy emanated from Jonathan. In a flash, Hayes fell to the ground on his knees, unable to
withstand the pressure for even a second.
“Repeat that again!”