In the Act

Xiajun adjusted the strap around his shoulders for the fifth time that night. His eyes searched the empty road till they rested on the well, where no one sat around washing their clothes or laughing around at this time.

It was nighttime, and Xiajun had figured that since there hadn't been any prominent deaths in the past few days, whoever might be drugging the well would be getting antsy. There was a slight chance the culprit would risk getting up in the night to up the dosage, when everyone else had already tucked in for the night.

And that was exactly when Xiajun needed to catch him: In the act.

The night breeze blew peacefully over the road, and even an hour's wait brought forth no fruit, since no one had decided to come by yet. Xiajun waited in the bushes out of sight, knowing how pathetic he'd look from someone else's point of view unless they knew how crucial this was to the case.