Ji Lingchuan's words made Song Yihuan's ears turn slightly red. Her voice became even clearer and firmer.
"Recall all the men previously sent to those eight households. Divide them into pairs and disperse them along all the old canals. As soon as the hour of Yin arrives, immediately light the firewood at the canal entrances. The canals are all interconnected. Once the thick smoke forms, it will spread inwards. No matter where that person flees, he will be trapped by the thick smoke. So, he will surely choose to flee through that exit unknown to others in the end. And all we need to do is wait for him there."
Prefect Ye carefully sized up Ji Lingchuan and raised his doubts. "But what if your guess is wrong and there is no exit in the City God's Temple at all? If he escapes from elsewhere, won't all our efforts be in vain?"
Song Yihuan smiled. "How could that be? Don't we still have these hounds with sharp noses?"
"That person has been moving around in the old canals all year round, so his body must be tainted with the smell of the old canals. We just need to quietly release a hound into the City God's Temple, and we'll know if there is a secret passage connecting to the canal in the temple."
As soon as she finished speaking, everyone began to discuss with each other. Their affirmative remarks were quite different from the doubts they had expressed earlier.
Without waiting for the discussion to reach a conclusion, Ji Lingchuan made a decision. "Just do as Miss Rou suggested. Recall all the men. Remember, don't tip off the enemy and let them notice anything unusual."
At Ji Lingchuan's order, the scene came to life. Song Yihuan watched Ji Lingchuan in front of her through the light veil. For some reason, a fire seemed to be burning in her heart.
An hour later, Fuzhou rushed back to the prefectural yamen with his men and entered the main hall.
"Your Highness, we just quietly released a hound into the City God's Temple as you ordered, and the dog brought back this from the temple."
He took out a slightly tattered cloth shoe. The shoe looked only half the size of Fuzhou's palm, as if it were worn by a child.
Prefect Ye couldn't hide his excitement. "I didn't expect the dog to really find a clue! Miss Rou, you're really brilliant!"
Miss Rou? Hearing this address, Fuzhou looked up and saw a woman wearing a veil hat and a coarse cloth dress sitting beside his master.
Could this be the Miss Rou who copied His Highness's "Yangshan Miscellany" for the bookstore?
Song Yihuan didn't notice Fuzhou's scrutiny. At this moment, her palms were sweating slightly because of Fuzhou's discovery.
It seemed that her intuition was right. There was indeed something wrong with the City God's Temple. She just wondered what enmity those women had with the criminal that made him act so brutally.
The sun gradually set in the west. During the day, the capital city was bustling with activity and full of prosperity. However, when the sun set and the night gradually enveloped the whole city, the streets and alleys were empty. The shops that used to open for business had all closed their doors, and the streets were deserted, just like a dead and silent city.
However, in different parts of the city, there was a group of shadows quietly lurking in the darkness.
In the residential house next to the City God's Temple, Ji Lingchuan sat on the stone bench in the yard, took out a piece of cotton cloth and carefully wiped the sword in his hand. The black hound lay quietly beside him, with its ears alertly pricked up.
Song Yihuan sat opposite him, with her hands folded on her lap. The veil hat on her head covered her face, but her tense body showed that she was very nervous at the moment.
There was no lamp in the yard. Only the moonlight provided some light. The two of them didn't say a word. The only sounds around were the gentle breathing and the chirping of cicadas.
They were all waiting, waiting for the arrival of the hour of Yin.
Perhaps due to being too nervous, Song Yihuan's stomach suddenly growled, which was particularly clear in the dark night.
Ji Lingchuan stopped wiping the sword, looked up at her and asked, "Hungry?"
Song Yihuan's ears burned. She tugged at her fingers and pretended to be calm. "Your Highness heard wrong."
Ji Lingchuan lifted the corner of his lips imperceptibly. "After all this is over, I'll take you somewhere to fill your stomach."
Song Yihuan whispered, "Thank you, Your Highness."
"Hmm?" The man gently tapped the sword in his hand. The sword emitted a buzzing sound, which was chilling.
Song Yihuan quickly corrected herself. "Thank you, Brother Ling."
Only then did Ji Lingchuan satisfactorily put the sword back into its scabbard.
The two of them fell silent again. As Song Yihuan sat there, drowsiness welled up and she couldn't help yawning. Ji Lingchuan noticed this and frowned slightly.
He regretted bringing her here. He remembered that her body was not fully recovered yet and she was in great need of rest.
At this time, a shrill barking of dogs and the scolding of the yamen runners came from the City God's Temple across the street. Ji Lingchuan's expression turned solemn. He picked up his sword and stood up, about to rush out.
After taking two steps, he realized that Song Yihuan was still there. He stopped and looked at her. After hesitating for a moment, he threw the long sword in his hand at her and said, "Stay here and don't go anywhere. If you're in danger, use the long sword in your hand to defend yourself. Whistle once and I'll come as soon as possible."
Song Yihuan clumsily caught the somewhat heavy long sword in her arms and watched Ji Lingchuan leap onto the wall and then disappear into the moonlight.
She was left alone in the small courtyard. The emptiness around her inevitably made her feel panicked. Song Yihuan thought for a while, took off the veil hat on her head, and carefully surveyed the surroundings by the moonlight, with one hand on the sword hilt.
In fact, she didn't know how to use a sword. If she really encountered a villain, she probably wouldn't be able to withstand a few moves. But having a weapon in hand made her feel a little less nervous.
The barking of dogs and the commotion next door didn't stop. Instead, it seemed to be getting more and more intense. Song Yihuan listened intently with a frown on her face.
The barking of the dogs indicated that her previous judgment was correct. The City God's Temple was indeed the hiding place of the criminal. But Ji Lingchuan, the constables sent by the prefectural yamen, and the Black Armored Army were lying in ambush nearby. With the hounds specially trained by the Black Armored Army, they shouldn't have failed to catch the criminal by now, right?
Could something have gone wrong at the City God's Temple?
Just as Song Yihuan was thinking, goosebumps suddenly rose on her body, as if she was being stared at by a poisonous snake. She tightened her grip on the long sword and looked into the darkness.
Only a part of the small courtyard could be seen in the moonlight. The other places were pitch - black, making it hard to see clearly.
But Song Yihuan knew that there was a danger there that could threaten her life.
She never doubted her premonition. Remembering what Ji Lingchuan had said before he left, she immediately drew out the long sword, threw away the scabbard, put her hand to her lips and let out a loud and long whistle!