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When Butler Zhang and his staff arrived at the location, there was already no one there.
They could tell that people had been here by looking at the tire tracks and footprints on the ground.
Butler Zhang glared at these traces with anger and exclaimed, “They must have left early!”
Then Butler Zhang immediately instructed Captain Cui, saying, “Quickly search for clues to see which direction they fled!”
Captain Cui was even more contemptuous of the Zhang family, as so many people couldn’t catch two individuals.
He looked at the traces on the ground and noticed that from that spot, there were tire tracks and scattered footprints in four different directions.
It appears that those people were well prepared before leaving.
Since that’s the case, it will be even more difficult to catch them.
Mockingly, he said, “You’ve seen the traces on the ground. They must have already left. We don’t even know what those people look like. Butler Zhang, you can choose a direction and accompany us to apprehend them.”
Butler Zhang retorted, “Aren’t these matters your responsibility? Hurry up and find out which direction they went!”
Captain Cui glanced at Butler Zhang and said, “Then let’s pursue them into the woods. Butler Zhang, you can also come along.”
As soon as Butler Zhang heard that they were going into the woods and that he was expected to accompany them, he immediately refused.
There are rumors that the woods contain unclean things. Although the woods are not far from Dashi County, the local people rarely venture inside.
Butler Zhang stammered for a while before putting on a pretense and said, “The woods are flat, and they would certainly anticipate that if we chase after them, we would assume they fled into the woods. So, they must not have gone in that direction.”
“They must have gone up the mountain. The mountain roads are difficult to travel, and they have a cart to push. They couldn’t have gone far. Let’s pursue them up the mountain.”
Captain Cui glanced in the direction of the woods and his years of experience in military marching and defense instincts told him that those people had indeed gone into the woods.
However, considering Butler Zhang’s aversion to the woods, he wondered if there was something inside that he didn’t know about…
He didn’t say anything and followed Butler Zhang’s suggestion to head up the mountain.
Along the way, Butler Zhang looked at the footprints and tire tracks covering the ground, confirming his earlier guess. His posture straightened noticeably.
“The traces on the ground are definitely fresh. They can’t have gone far. Let’s hurry and pursue them,” Butler Zhang urged.
Butler Zhang quickened his pace, feeling that victory was within reach.
Although Young Master Zhang usually indulged in a carefree lifestyle, and the master of the mansion placed more importance on his legitimate son born from a concubine.
But after all, he was the eldest son of the mansion, and seeing him in such a state, if Butler Zhang couldn’t capture those people and redeem himself, his days as a steward would come to an end.
However, as soon as they reached the foot of the mountain, they were greeted by two wild boars, each about half the height of a person.
Since Butler Zhang was walking at the front, he was the first to suffer the attack from the wild boars.
One of the wild boars rammed into Butler Zhang’s stomach, sending him flying. As he was about to land, the other wild boar ruthlessly collided with him.
The two wild boars were tossing Butler Zhang in the air as if playing a game.
Butler Zhang felt as if his internal organs were about to be scattered, with no strength left to call for help.
It was precisely because Butler Zhang was in the front that Captain Cui and the others had time to react.
Captain Cui said, “Be careful, everyone, save Butler Zhang.”
The soldiers behind him quickly formed formations and attacked the two wild boars.
With so many people surrounding them, the wild boars stopped playing with Butler Zhang.
Without the wild boars continuing to ram, the soldiers focused on killing the wild boars.
Butler Zhang crashed to the ground with a loud thud, spitting out a mouthful of blood, lying on the ground like a dead fish.
And two quarters of an hour later, the two wild boars also fell to the ground under the attack of numerous soldiers.
Captain Cui waved his hand happily and exclaimed, “Tonight, we’ll have these two wild boars and let the kitchen prepare an extra meal for our brothers.”
The soldiers cheered joyfully.
As for the matter of continuing to track down Shen Yu’an and the others, it naturally came to an end.
The soldiers lifted up the half-dead Butler Zhang from the ground and, along with the two wild boars, began their journey back to the city.
Meanwhile, Shen Yu’an and her group had already left the city gates towards the direction of the woods over an hour ago.
Before their departure, they had considered the possibility of the Zhang family sending people after them, so they initially planned to create some misleading traces.
However, upon seeing the existing traces on the ground leading up the mountain, they naturally saved themselves the effort.
As for the encounter with the wild boars and such, it can only be attributed to their bad luck.
Butler Zhang, who suffered from this ordeal, was unable to continue his role as a steward due to his severe injuries.
The Zhang family, considering the extent of his injuries, did not further investigate his failure to protect the master. However, they also didn’t pay him any more attention.
Shen Yu’an and her group were unaware of these events because they seemed to have encountered troubles of their own.
When they first entered the woods, they had no idea of its size.
However, it didn’t take long for them to realize that something was amiss.
While passing through a particular area, the lively and energetic Sanlang pointed at a tree as thick as five people hugging together and said, “The trees here are so big! I’ve already seen three of these massive trees, and they all look similar!”
Upon hearing Sanlang’s words, the others didn’t sense anything amiss. Instead, they happily joined in the conversation.
Shen Ming remarked, “Indeed! It’s surprising how vibrant the vitality of this forest is. Look at the leaves of these giant trees—there’s no trace of withering at all.”
The group engaged in a lively discussion about the towering trees.
When did this forest come into existence? How many years have these trees been here? Each person had their own opinion, and the debate continued nonstop.
The trees in this forest were incredibly tall, and their lush leaves intertwined, blocking out the sun. Only fragments of sunlight managed to penetrate through the gaps in the leaves, casting scattered patches of light and shadow.
Shen Yu’an noticed that something was off and spoke up, “Everyone, let’s pause for a moment.”
The few people walking ahead stopped and turned to look at Shen Yu’an in the middle.
Grandma Shen asked, “What’s wrong, An’an? Are you tired? Take a rest before we continue.”
Shen Yu’an shook her head and said, “I’m not tired, but it seems like we’re lost.”
The others were astonished, “Lost?”
After entering the forest, weren’t they simply following a single direction? How could they be lost?
Song Shi voiced the collective confusion, “Are you sure, my dear? We’ve been walking in the southwest direction since we entered, without deviating from the path.”
Shen Yu’an had walked to the large tree that Shen Sanlang had mentioned earlier and discovered a deep mark on the back of the tree.
She poked her head out from behind and called out to Fei Yanchen, “Ah Chen, come over here and see if this mark on the tree looks familiar to you.”
Fei Yanchen took a few steps and approached, and indeed, he noticed a deep scratch on the trunk of the large tree.