The night was tranquil, the starry sky hung low, and the moon climbed into the firmament. The sunset's afterglow had not yet completely faded, casting shimmering light across the surface of the sea. Amidst the purple-red glow, a few homeward-bound gulls could be spotted here and there. Fishermen, busy all day, returned to the pier in twos and threes, setting up small lamps. Some were still tallying their catch, while others had already lit their kitchen stoves; though there was no coiling chimney smoke, the scent of cooking drifted everywhere.
The sea breeze was cool, the sound of the waves constant, and it would be another three or four hours before the tide receded fully. Because it was nighttime, there were hardly any people left on the beach. Moonlight spilled down, and where the gentle breeze swept by, it stirred a few rustling grains of sand—the whole beach was filled with the soft murmurs of waves and fine sand.
Lu Mingfei and his group moored their boat at the shore and returned to land.
Chapter 138