"Luckily, the wind and waves stopped after dawn; otherwise, I wouldn't have dared to set out at this ti. You guys are really lucky."
"That's true, that's true."
Lin Shuyou imitated Brother Bin's past behavior, walked up to the old boatman, and took out a cigarette pack, offering a cigarette to the old boatman who was steering the boat.
When he took out the lighter, Lin Shuyou wanted to show off a trick. He tossed the lighter in one hand and was ready to catch it with the other when a wave hit, causing the boat to sway and the lighter to crash against the boat's side and fall into the sea.
The old boatman was amused, couldn't help but grin and laugh, took out a match himself, lit it, and helped Lin Shuyou light one as well.
"Tell , what are you going to that island for at this ti? It's not the season yet, is it?"
"For sightseeing and sketching."
"Oh, just looking for trouble after a full al."
Lin Shuyou: "It's part of life, part of work."
With Brother Bin not here, such social tasks naturally fell on him.
Actually, Yin ng could handle it too, but Yin ng is a woman, and becoming white and pretty now, getting involved with all kinds of people inevitably draws those with wicked eyes and loose tongues.
Old boatman: "When will you be back?"
Lin Shuyou: "Ah, that's uncertain."
Old boatman: "On ordinary days, not many boats go to that island. When you want to co back, just call my village from the island, and I'll take the boat over to pick you up."
Lin Shuyou: "Alright then, we appreciate your effort."
Old boatman: "Then the fare for this trip doubles, you need to pay in advance, right?"
Lin Shuyou: "I can only give you an extra half as a deposit."
The old boatman nodded: "Sure."
Lin Shuyou felt he negotiated quite smoothly, while the old boatman smiled inwardly; next, he planned to secretly go fishing. He had no spare ti to wait at ho to pick them up; he should take every chance to catch as much fish as possible.
At that mont, the old boatman noticed that when Lin Shuyou smoked, the smoke rings from his mouth were dense, and blurted out:
"Tsk, you inhale the smoke into your mouth and then blow it out? I say, if you can't smoke, don't force it; you're wasting good stuff."
Saying this, the old boatman actively reached out to Lin Shuyou to ask for so, and took the just-opened pack from his pocket, saying he'd smoke them on the return journey.
Lin Shuyou responded sowhat awkwardly, and his peripheral vision discreetly scanned his companions, relieved to see that nobody noticed his situation.
Every ti they went out in the past, Brother Bin always managed everything well, and even passersby lent a helping hand naturally. But this ti, it felt a bit odd that he had to arrange things himself.
Old boatman: "See it yet? It's right up ahead, we're almost there."
A silhouette of an island appeared ahead.
Standing at the bow, Li Zhiyuan lowered his head to glance at the wordless book in his hands. The monkey in the second picture faced the direction where the island lay.
But this island was rely Tan Wenbin's location, not Qiu Mansion where Heartless Island was located.
This suggested that their current position, this island, and Heartless Island were aligned in a straight line?
Or perhaps, the target towards where the monkey faced wasn't on Heartless Island but right here on this island?
As the boat approached the dock, there was an even larger fishing boat moored there. The boat owner was squatting at the bow, holding a bowl and chopsticks, eating.
The old boatman made a friendly greeting, but the other man just glanced at him, didn't respond, and continued eating.
Lin Shuyou: "Do you know him?"
Old boatman: "Seen him around, not really familiar, but he always takes this route, delivers supplies to this island."
After everyone disembarked, the old boatman turned the boat around and headed back.
Li Zhiyuan looked again at the wordless book in his hands; the monkey was crouching, hugging its knees, curling itself into a ball, without any obvious direction.
Rembering his current responsibility, Lin Shuyou proactively approached the other boat owner to chat.
The other man first asked about their boat fare, to which Lin Shuyou replied.
Boat Captain: "You've been caught like a shrimp."
Lin Shuyou didn't know this saying, but understood enough to realize he'd been ripped off.
Upon hearing that Lin Shuyou had paid half the return fare in advance, the boat captain chuckled and wiped his mouth with his palm, rinsed the eaten tableware in the water:
"You can follow my boat back instead; I won't charge any boat fee."
Saying that, he stood up, intending to head into the cabin. Lin Shuyou quickly asked about Tan Wenbin.
The boat captain paused and replied: "You're asking about that young fellow, is he your friend? He's a pretty decent guy, we chatted quite well. He should still be on the island; you can go look for him in the village."
While Lin Shuyou was chatting with the boat captain, Li Zhiyuan was watching him.
The boat captain carried no special aura, his every move echoed the habits of sea goers.
But the interruption in Tan Wenbin's safety communication indicated that there was definitely sothing wrong on this island.
Lin Shuyou ca back: "Brother Xiao Yuan, shall we go to the village to et up with Brother Bin?"
"Okay." Li Zhiyuan nodded.
The group followed the road, heading towards the village.
The boat captain walked out of the cabin, first looking at the four departing people, then turning around, facing the sea, his gaze deep and forlorn.
Originally marching ahead, Li Zhiyuan halted, turned back to look at the boat and the people on board.
At that mont, just this scene alone made Li Zhiyuan certain that there was sothing wrong with this person.
On an island already confird problematic, any deviation from the original scene shouldn't be taken lightly.
Heading towards the village, they passed by a lighthouse.
Under the lighthouse, an old man was sitting there, fishing.
From an artistic sketching perspective, this truly was a very good scene, evoking tranquility and distance.
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