"Keep watch?" The last man to arrive and join them—a short, stout fellow—furrowed his brow uneasily. After a moment, he said tentatively, "Keeping watch isn't really a problem, but we've been lost in the mountains for ages tonight, and we're all completely worn out. How about..."
Before he could finish, the old man cut him off. "Masters, there's no need to worry. We've already thought of that. We found a place for you to rest—the best our village has to offer. Get some rest first, and later tonight we'll arrange for you to keep watch."
"By 'later' you mean..." someone ventured. It was already completely dark; night had clearly fallen some time ago.
The man stuck the torch in his hand into the ground and said, "The third watch."
The Fatty did a quick calculation. He knew the saying "the dead of night," and the third watch meant midnight. Sending them to keep watch over drowned people at that hour was bound to end badly!
Someone else tried to get out of it with another excuse, but the old man and the burly fellow shut them down in tandem. At last, everyone stopped resisting. It seemed they had no choice but to keep watch tonight.
"Where are we going to rest?" Jiang Cheng asked. "And where have you set up the mourning hall for the night watch?"
Seeing that they had agreed, the old man could hardly hide his delight. His face crinkled into a smile. "Masters, don't rush. Please rest here for a little while. I'll just be a moment. I'll be right back."
With that, he left alone.
After the old man had gone, the burly fellow said he would arrange for the villagers to get the rooms ready for the masters. He told them to wait there,