"Guard against fire and theft, for a peaceful long night!"
"Bang—Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Only when the sound entered their ears did the several of them finally breathe a sigh of relief.
It was the night watchman!
But it was the rhythm of one slow followed by three quick beats, indicating that it was now the fourth watch of the night.
In regards to the sound of time signaling,
one slow followed by a quick beat, repeated three times, signifies the end of dusk, announcing the start of night.
One sound followed by another, struck repeatedly, signifies the second watch.
The third watch is one slow followed by two quick, the fourth watch is one slow followed by three quick, and the fifth watch is one slow followed by four quick.
Thus, by merely listening to the night watchman's clapping of the bamboo clapper, one could know the time.
They had come to Withering and Flourishing Temple and had not felt that they had done much, yet time had slipped away unnoticed.
