"Huh? Gods and Buddhas, the sea wind has changed again! It's gone from blowing toward the 'jia' position to blowing toward the 'mao' position..."
"What, toward mao? Doesn't that mean it's blowing due east? If the ship sails east, then this time it's a full tailwind—we can make three hundred li in a day!..."
"No, that's not right! Kim Seon-su, the wind is blowing due east, but the coastline bends southeast, and the bow has to angle south too... So it's still between a beam wind and a tailwind, leaning toward a tailwind... I'd estimate we can make two hundred thirty or forty li in a day. A little faster again..."
"Good! Park Sun-pan, go tell Lord Priest Mi. It's good news, however small... Hm? Wait! Look ahead! Is that a great river mouth up there?"
"Huh? It really is a great river mouth! No, wait! A river mouth is muddy, and a sea mouth is clear... With that deep blue tinged green, it should be a sea mouth!..."
"Oh! Right!... Then up ahead is a bay, and what's around it are islands, not land... Wait! Lord Priest Mi said that the Gold Creek Port with the Gold Mountain was among a cluster of nearshore islands... Are we almost there?..."
"Kim, Park! Have the sailors adjust the sails and go in through the wide channel ahead!... Main God bless us! The Kingdom's Divine Gold Creek Port is more than a hundred li east, at the end of this narrow bay!..."
"Huh? Main God bless us! Gold Mountain! The Gold Mountain the lord priest promised—is it about to be here?...
Beneath a sea-blue sky lay a sky-blue sea. In the bay, clear as a mirror, the lush green grass and trees of the islands on both shores were reflected, along with