Chapter 459 - 453_1
"Master, should we continue the chase?" The manservant, seeing Master Wei lost in thought and silent, recalled the fate of the previous servant who had tailed the target. He steeled himself to ask, lest any delay or failure be blamed on him.
Master Wei snapped back to reality, his face betraying impatience. Really, why weren’t any of his followers sharp enough? It was clear he had his sights set on Zhang Qiusheng and his daughter; was there even a need to ask? Should the chase continue? He scolded, "Is that even a question? Chase them, immediately go chase them! I don’t care about the others, but Zhang Qiusheng and that beautiful young mistress must be brought back to me. If there’s any mishap, don’t blame me for being ruthless."
"Yes, master, I’ll take men to chase them right now," the manservant, startled by Master Wei’s fierce tone, took the order and led people toward Zhao Family village. What they hadn’t anticipated was Zhang Qiusheng seeking refuge at Zhao Family village. Thus, when they passed by the village without stopping and continued chasing forward, the two groups naturally missed each other. Master Wei’s trusted followers chased for an entire day, even reaching the next county town, but they did not catch up to their targets.
"Zhang Qiusheng and his family left in a horse-drawn carriage; their pace should have been slower than ours. By logic, we should have caught up to them by now. Why haven’t we seen them yet?" Master Wei’s confidant sensed something was wrong and ordered everyone to stop.
"I also feel something’s amiss. According to the information we gathered earlier, Zhang Qiusheng and his family were headed toward Zhao Family village. We have followed the direction correctly; could it be that Zhang Qiusheng knew we were following and deliberately changed course?"
"Guessing is no use. How about this: We split up to gather information and see if anyone similar to Zhang Qiusheng has been seen around here. Maybe we’ll find some clues." Master Wei’s confidant, still somewhat rational, immediately devised a fairly reliable plan.
Soon, the information was gathered. Despite thorough questioning in the small county town, no one reported sightings of Zhang Qiusheng and his family.
"Boss, what should we do? Do we continue the chase? The master gave a strict order to bring them back. If we return empty-handed, the master is unlikely to spare us." The followers knew of Master Wei’s ruthless methods, so failing their task made them especially anxious.
"We have done our best already. Not intercepting them can’t be helped. Besides, it’s possible Zhang Qiusheng and his family are still on their way here and we’ve simply missed them. We still need to go back, but we should slow down and inquire carefully along the way for any trace of Zhang Qiusheng’s family. Maybe we’ll make some discoveries."
"That’s the only option we have."