By the following morning.
Cricket came to see Lin Mo off.
Seeing how few people were left aboard, Cricket asked, "Is it my imagination, or are there a lot fewer of you?"
Mohji looked ready to cry. "It's not your imagination... There are only a few of us left."
Cricket froze. "You're sailing out with just this crew? Are you sure you'll be all right?"
"We'll be fine," Lin Mo said calmly.
Cricket smiled and shook his head. "Ah, to be young."
Though he himself wasn't even thirty yet.
When the time came, Lin Mo told Mohji and Cabaji to set sail.
Mohji and Cabaji had a thousand reasons not to, but Lin Mo's strength left them no room to argue. They obeyed and sailed toward the southern reaches of the sea, following the direction the South Bird's head pointed.
Cricket stood on the shore, watching Lin Mo depart. He couldn't help worrying. "I hope you catch the Knock Up Stream. Just don't fall back down..."
"Cabaji, should we jump overboard and make a run for it later?" Mohji whispered in the wheelhouse, asking him once again.
Cabaji glanced around and lowered his voice. "That Lin Mo brat has sharp ears. Stop talking. If he hears we're planning to run, we're finished."
"Captain Buggy still hasn't woken up..." Mohji looked out at Buggy, who lay unconscious on the deck with his eyes rolled back, and sighed. "You don't think Captain Buggy might die like this, do you?"
"Don't jinx him!" Cabaji punched Mohji. "Captain Buggy isn't a man who dies that easily!"
"You bastard! You actually hit me!" Mohji raised a fist to strike back, but it stopped less than two inches from Cabaji's face. Disbelief spread across his own.
"What's wrong?" Cabaji followed Mohji's gaze outside. When he saw