"Send people to keep a close watch on the well."
Huang Santainai interrupted her.
"One every three meters. Day and night, keep your eyes open."
"Yes."
Yang Yong returned to his lodgings.
Long Ya was still sitting on the roof, waving to him from afar.
"Master, they really have surrounded the well."
She offered him the binoculars in her hand.
Yang Yong did not take them.
He jumped onto the roof and sat down beside Long Ya.
The wind blew from the north, carrying the earthy smell of freshly turned soil around the well.
From here, a dusty gray speck could be seen every few meters around the old well.
Those Yellow Weasels crouched low, hiding at the foot of walls, in the grass, and behind roof ridges.
Without a close look, they resembled stones sprouting from the ground.
But Yang Yong could sense their energy.
A heap of animals gathered together, steaming with heat, much like a covered pot of water.
"Master, what do you think is really in that well?" Long Ya asked.
"Water," Yang Yong said.
Long Ya froze for a moment.
Yang Yong said, "Zhao Hu said there's an underground river beneath that well."
"The river connects to the water veins of Black Water Marsh."
"Huang Santainai's formation relies on the water dragon energy of those water veins."
"This village can stay hidden only because that energy sustains it."
He paused, then added, "But the water veins in a well hardly warrant posting guards every three meters."
"The water is only the surface."
"There should be something else beneath it."
Long Ya said nothing.
She lowered her head and cleaned her gun, polishing the barrel until it gleamed.
After a long while, she asked quietly, "Master, will they cry out again tonight?"
Yang Yong looked at