It was late at night, past midnight.
The courtyard beside No. 1 Herb Garden, the largest garden under Li Song's charge, was brightly lit.
"How did it go? Did you find the thief?" Li Song asked the man who had arrived.
The man was named Jiang Pingchuan. He was an Attendant of the Li Family, responsible for the Secret Stakes around the Herb Gardens. He oversaw the various gardens and assisted Li Song with their management.
He shook his head. "Steward Li, we've already sent more men to search that area. But neither the men stationed there nor the reinforcements found any suspicious activity."
Li Song frowned. "Our patrol network covers most of the escape routes. What could that thief possibly have done to slip away right under our noses? Could he still be hiding in the mountains?"
As an important family enterprise, the Herb Garden naturally relied on more than just its visible guards. The Secret Stakes, present everywhere at all times, were the final line of defense.
Yet that line of defense had failed.
Jiang Pingchuan said gravely, "The thief didn't alert the Secret Stakes coming in or going out. If he really left without a sound, then there's a hole in the Herb Garden's security system."
It was a serious problem.
If they failed to catch him once, there would surely be a second time, then a third.
Li Song's thoughts grew heavy as he continued to ponder the matter. It had to be dealt with.
He had a nagging feeling that something was off.
If the thief was strong, then Chen Yuan could not possibly have held his own against him. He would have been seriously injured, if not killed. Could he have deliberately acted weak, not wanting to take things too far?
But if the