After thinking for a while, Xu Xian solemnly replied to Li Gongfu.
Afterwards, he went into the Taoist temple and asked the abbot, Xiao Ning, for instructions.
Xiao Ning waved for him to leave, telling him to go ahead.
…………
As darkness fell, Li Gongfu divided the more than one hundred constables into more than twenty groups, with each group stationed in a village.
According to Li Gongfu's judgment, if the next case were to occur, it would most likely be in one of the villages they had selected.
Therefore, each village was assigned a group of three to five people, and Li Gongfu personally led several people as a mobile team to provide support at any time after receiving the signal.
Xu Xian went down the mountain and followed behind Li Gongfu, hoping to catch that audacious thief.
This was the third night of patrolling, and although they hadn't caught anything—not even a single bird feather—they had come up with anything.
The good news is that no more children have been stolen in the past three days, so at least everyone's hard work hasn't been in vain.
The night light shone like water, and the bright moon hung high, driving away most of the darkness. Even at midnight, the world was still dimly lit.
Several groups quietly took turns patrolling between villages. Although this method of waiting for the rabbit to run into the tree stump was clumsy, it was the best method Li Gongfu could think of.
Fortunately, the local gentry donated five thousand taels of silver as a reward. More than a hundred people shared the five thousand taels, and each person could get several dozen taels. With the silver as motivation, no one complained about the hardship or fatigue.
It was midnight, the third watch of the night. All the lights in the houses were out, and the whole world was quiet, as if the pause button had been pressed. Only the occasional breathing of the yamen runners could be heard in their ears.
"Another night of wasted effort, boss. What's the point of us just sitting here like idiots?"
The constable Wang Er whispered to the head constable beside him.
"Is this something you should be concerned about? Just keep watch and pray that the thief is caught, otherwise, none of us will have a good time!"
Team leader Liu Mao pursed his lips and replied impatiently.
The leader of this team was Liu Mao, the squad leader. Liu Mao was very resistant to the idea that the head constable Li Gongfu had arranged for them to stake out some thieves. Moreover, he was already very tired after working for two nights in vain.
Unfortunately, a higher-ranking official can have a crushing effect.
Besides, Magistrate Su Kangnian has given a death order. If Liu Mao dares to object, Li Gongfu will probably strip him of his position and even kick him out of the constable ranks without Su Kangnian's intervention.
That's really upsetting.
While leading his men on a patrol, Liu Mao was half-asleep with his eyes half-closed when suddenly someone pushed him, which made him very angry despite his drowsiness.
Who on earth dared to keep me from sleeping? Don't they know I'm so sleepy?
Before Liu Mao could even get angry, one of his constables whispered a warning: "Sir, something's up!"
Liu Mao was slightly taken aback, then realized what was happening and instinctively shuddered, lowering his voice to ask, "Something's up? What's up?"
The constable, with a hint of excitement on his face, quietly pointed into the distance and said, "Sir, please look!"
Following the direction the constable pointed, Han Ping's eyes narrowed, and he almost cried out in surprise.
Because he could clearly see that not far away, about a hundred feet away, a figure was staggering towards the village.
In the dead of night, even a fool would know that the other person is not acting normally.
Hiding in the corner, Liu Mao stared at the figure. After hesitating a few times, he suddenly gritted his teeth. What was there to be afraid of? The other party looked like just one person. Maybe he was a bit stronger, but he didn't think he was any less capable. Plus, he had a few of his own constables with him. It wasn't impossible for him to catch the other party.
"Follow me, and I will personally petition the magistrate for your commendation! Capture this scoundrel, and he will be promoted to a regular constable, with a reward of one hundred taels of silver."
It must be said that Liu Mao's last words were very realistic. For these temporary yamen runners, promotion and wealth were what they valued most.
Let alone catching criminals, they would even fight against demons and monsters if it meant getting a promotion and making money.
A dazzling firework exploded in mid-air; this was a signal flare that Xu Xian had specially arranged to signal and make contact.
Now that the fireworks are going off in the sky, it's midnight and everyone can see them clearly. In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, all the constables will be able to arrive as quickly as possible.
"Brothers, follow me! Let's capture this thief!"
Liu Mao leaped up from his hiding place and ran towards the figure at the village entrance. The constables behind him exchanged glances, both seeing the excitement in each other's eyes, and then rushed forward as well.
The figure at the village entrance was startled by the sudden turn of events. After glancing at Liu Mao and the others, he immediately turned and left.
Strangely, although the person was trying to escape, he couldn't move fast at all, as if he had frozen.
Seeing this, Liu Mao and his companions were taken aback. If they couldn't even run away, their strength was probably not that great. Were they here to make a joke?
However, there was no time to worry about that at this moment. The group rushed forward, with Liu Mao taking the lead. He drew his broadsword with a clang and slashed it down hard at the opponent's back.
Instead of directly striking the opponent's head, Liu Mao slashed at his back, and with that strike, a stream of foul-smelling black blood gushed out.
"Pfft!"
Black, foul-smelling blood gushed out, splattering everywhere.
Liu Mao, who was closest to the splatter, got splashed all over his face. Even the constables who followed him were also splashed. But Liu Mao didn't mind. He wiped the blood off his face and was overjoyed. No matter the outcome, the fact that he had seriously injured the other party was enough for him to take the main credit.
"Awoo!"
A shrill howl came from the figure's mouth, like that of a wounded, hungry wolf, more like an angry roar than a cry of pain.
Liu Mao and the others were all drawn to the roar and looked at the other party in astonishment.