Third watch

The Third watch is the appointed time for Xiao Feng to meet Duan Zhengchun at the bluestone bridge, an hour chosen for a conversation that Xiao Feng approaches with striking unease. The appointment turns a precise marker of night into a measure of his disrupted resolve: he arrives before the agreed time, despite a lifetime of facing dangerous opponents without comparable hesitation.

Appointment at the Bridge

After Ruan Xingzhu defends Duan Zhengchun, Xiao Feng turns his anger toward him and names the bluestone bridge as their meeting place. He says he will be waiting there at the Third watch and that he has something to discuss with Duan Zhengchun. The hour establishes a future private encounter rather than an immediate confrontation.

An Hour Arrived Too Soon

Xiao Feng reaches the bridge while it is still before the second watch, one watch earlier than the appointment. Looking toward the Big Dipper, he recognizes that it is not yet time. He attributes his haste to wanting to settle the matter, but the early arrival also marks a change in his usual composure.

Significance

Xiao Feng recalls having kept many appointments where his life was at stake and having faced opponents more renowned and skilled in martial arts than Duan Zhengchun. Yet on this night he feels unusually uneasy and lacks his former unyielding, all-or-nothing spirit. The contrast makes the Third watch more than a scheduling detail: it frames an encounter whose emotional pressure has already unsettled him before it begins.