With a heart full of frustration, loss, and guilt, Wangchuan kept watch throughout the night.

No new threats emerged in Blackstone Village.

At dawn, the Village Chief arranged for someone to contact the county yamen, partly to inquire about the whereabouts of Zhao Heiniu and the other search teams, and partly to report the murder that had occurred in Blackstone Village.

The county yamen was highly sensitive to incidents of bandit attacks on villages and dispatched a constable along with two others to investigate.