The Legendary Man

Chapter 788

“Let go of me! Only one of us can live. Let me kill her!”

Broderick kept struggling in an attempt to escape. He glared at Josephine with deep hatred as though she was a vicious person who had murdered and destroyed his family.

Baffled, Mason furrowed his brows.

Although he did not know each member of the Osborne family personally, he knew enough to know that there had never been any interaction between Broderick and Josephine.

If I had to make some connections between them, I could only think of one thing. Josephine's husband, Jonathan, was the one who crippled Broderick's arm. But then again, Broderick would never dare to attack Josephine at this juncture, no matter how much the former wanted revenge. After all, she's the only pawn who could affect Jonathan's actions. If anything untoward happens, the Osborne family will surely lose Asura's Office as an ally. By then, it's not hard to predict that Jonathan will definitely retaliate like crazy. The Salladays, along with the other six families, will also seize the opportunity to add fuel to the fire, resulting in a series of apparent knock-on effects. This is also why Josephine is completely unharmed even though she is currently being held captive—it's to prevent all that. Broderick should understand the delicate balance at play here.

Mason approached them with an icy look on his face. He reached out and pinched Broderick's neck. A stream of pure spiritual energy flowed through Broderick's body.

In a flash, every inch of Broderick's body appeared in Mason's mind.

“There are no parasites or other strange matters. What exactly is going on?” Mason asked in a cold voice, looking directly at Broderick.

Looking at Broderick's state earlier, he had thought that the Mallory family had poisoned Broderick. However, upon closer inspection, he became even more confused.

Broderick was usually very respectful and well-behaved and would salute Mason the moment he caught sight of him from afar.

Yet, at that moment, there was nothing else in Broderick's mind save for Josephine.

“It seems that Broderick has gone insane!” Everett exclaimed with a frown. Then, he turned to Mason as he suddenly recalled something. “Mason, if it isn't a parasite, could it be that Broderick has been hypnotized?”

Hypnosis?

Mason's expression turned solemn upon hearing Everett's suggestion.

Theoretically speaking, cultivators who had entered the Superior Realm have extremely strong mental energy. Even if their cultivation skills were terrible, such cultivators were still better than ordinary people.

Thus, it should be impossible for a cultivator to fall under hypnosis.

Nevertheless, there were exceptions to everything. If the hypnotist were a cultivator as well, then there may be deceptive spells that could act as hypnosis.

Mason shook Broderick gently, causing Broderick to let out a muffled groan and fall unconscious.

“Investigate this matter. Look into everyone who has come into contact with Broderick since he returned. I want to know who dares to start trouble with the Osborne family.” While issuing the order, Mason turned to look at Josephine. “Alicia, take Josephine for a full medical examination. Make sure that both she and her baby are okay.”

“Yes, Grandpa.”

Alicia left while supporting Josephine with an arm. Even though Mason had not said anything, Alicia knew that saving Josephine was tantamount.

In Oak Tree Village located in Quakersville, Huxville, which was the ancestral home of the Salladay family, Eva was happily licking an ice cream cone.

Next to her, Gregory Salladay was sitting on a low bench, holding a fishing rod in his hand and watching the fish swimming in the lake.

“Eva, how's that matter with Josephine going on?”

Eva took a big bite out of her ice cream cone.

“Five days ago, Broderick of the Osborne family went up to the Grand Forest Mountain on a work trip. I found him at the bar that he frequents. His willpower is weak, so he was easy to hypnotize.”

“Do you think you succeeded?”

Gregory reeled in his fishing line while speaking, but there was no fish on the hook.

However, he was in no hurry. He simply attached another bait to the hook and threw the line back into the lake.

Eva looked out at the lake and frowned.

“The success rate is about half. The Osborne residence is difficult to locate, and there's no way to sneak in. There are many things outside our control.”

Eva looked at the fish swimming about. Her spiritual sense spread out across the lake. She smiled and turned to Gregory.

“Grandpa, there are no big fishes in this area. You won't catch anything even if you sit here all day.”

Gregory chuckled when he heard his granddaughter's remark.

“Ah, you're still young. You don't understand the art of fishing,” Gregory replied, looking over at Eva. “People say that you will come to know your destiny as you age. I am almost eighty years old. I already know what my future holds.”

“But fishing is different!”

“But fishing is different!”

Gregory began reeling in his fishing line. A large herring had taken his bait and was being slowly pulled ashore by him.

Eva was surprised. She sent her spiritual sense into the waters again, but she did not know where the herring had come from.