Course
As Long Tian clung to the gunwale and climbed aboard, a thin layer of mist floated on the sea at night. Water droplets dripped from his clothes and hair, pooling on the deck. He squatted by the gunwale and wiped the water from his face, his breathing slightly heavier than usual, but he quickly calmed down. Yu Jin followed him aboard and squatted down by the gunwale as well. The two of them stood a distance apart and took a moment to catch their breath.
The man at the stern didn't press him. He reeled in the anchor line at the bow, allowing the boat to drift again. Then, he took an old earthenware pot from the cabin, poured two bowls of warm water, and brought them over. Long Tian took one bowl, drank a few sips, rested the rim of the bowl on his knees, and described the coordinates of the nautical chart and the location of the final marker point he saw on the light screen. The man at the stern listened without speaking immediately. He lowered his head, mentally comparing the location Long Tian described with the route he had traveled, then nodded and put the old earthenware pot back into the cabin.
"I'd passed that area of water before." The person at the stern squatted down by the water's edge, dipped their hand into the water to feel the current, and when they pulled their hand back, water droplets dripped from their fingers. "That time, we weren't going there intentionally; we were drifting off course with a current. After veering off course for a while, the compass reading was different from normal, as if it had made a small jump during the continuous deviation. The boat didn't stay in that area for long, and I didn't look further."
Long Tian sat up straighter on the deck. "The coordinates of that location match the marked point on the light screen map."
The person at the stern nodded, not pursuing the topic further. The ship remained still on the sea for a while longer, the night fog continuing to float around the hull, the moonlight filtering through the thin mist, illuminating the water stains on the deck as a uniform, glossy surface. Long Tian finished the water in his bowl, placed the empty bowl at the cabin entrance, and wiped the remaining water droplets from his chin with the cuff of his coat.
"We'll set off after dawn." The man at the stern stood up, gripped the helm again, and, still shrouded in mist, turned the boat around, retracing its route. His voice was steady as he spoke, as if confirming something he already knew the outcome of, simply stating its contents to let others know he truly knew. "Based on the coordinates of the light-screen map, that area of water is near the end of a current channel in the southeast. Starting from Longfish Bay, it's not too far, roughly a little further out from the direction of Great Abyss."
The boat glided slowly through the mist, passing the edge of the inky black waters and the shallow waters at the end of the lighter band. By daybreak, the mist had mostly dissipated, and the sea was bathed in the morning light, turning into a uniform, bright silver. The outline of the near shore appeared as a blurry, dark line at the edge of the field of vision. The waters of Longfish Bay took on a calm, bright hue under the afternoon sun. After the boat docked, Long Tian and Yu Jin went ashore and walked along the dirt road out of Longfish Bay, stopping under an old willow tree by the roadside.
Long Tian took the silk map out of his pouch and, with his fingernail, drew a new extension line along the direction of the light screen map, following the path that was interrupted by a wavy line at the end of the map. The end of the new line fell about a palm and a half outside the original marked area on the silk map. He drew a small circle at that position and traced it twice to make its outline clearly visible on the paper.
He folded the map and put it into his leather pouch, then stood up and walked to the dirt road on the outskirts of Longfish Bay, gazing at the distant horizon in the direction he had come from. Yu Jin followed and stood beside him, the light from the dark gray bead shimmering along the edge of his collar like an old badge carefully placed on his lapel.
"Once we've prepared more supplies and fresh water, we'll head to that location." Long Tian tightened the straps of his leather bag and began walking in the direction they had come from. Yu Jin followed beside him, the two walking side by side on the afternoon dirt road. The road surface was slightly hot from the sun, and the dust, compacted underfoot, left shallow tracks that were gradually smoothed by the wind as they continued walking. Like an old cloth repeatedly unfolded and gathered, it maintained its original texture and direction through constant shifting, recording each passing and departure in its own way, leaving behind imprints of varying depths, waiting for the next person to tread upon them and create new tracks.