Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 4-7 2019 | Page 277

Ming then woke up to a grinning face of his brother Wong. Ming was really confused in why his brother
would do this. Wong emphasised that he could no longer stay behind his shadow while he was only
recognised as a 'second-hand' version of his brother. As they were going back and forth, Ming’s crew
members were slowly decreasing in numbers. Ming glanced to the edge of the ship and could see his crew
members walking the plan blindfolded. He could also see his bare crew members being sliced by the pirates
if they refused to walk. In a fit of rage, Ming untied his ropes with what seemed like brute strength. It is true
that Ming was an entirely different person after his brother had gone missing, but it also taught him a lesson.
He used his favors from the loyal relationships he had established with multiple countries and learnt many
things from them. He grew much stronger from all the training he had received from these countries and it
was for preventing an incident like his brother’s.
He stood up to the crowd of pirates standing out because not only was he the only member of his crew who
was still unscathed, he also had a look in his eyes that screamed out vengeance. As the pirates were preparing
to attack, Ming was suddenly obscured. He had deployed multiple smoke bombs that contained quick
burning tar and rags. This caused the pirates to panic and started swinging their sharp swords around them.
Although this did protect them from attacks, they could also swing at their allies which led to them having
double-edged swords. Wong was not found anywhere in the battle because he did not care for his allies like
Ming does.
Although Ming had disguised himself in the thick smokescreen, he was not delusional to think that he could
take out all the pirates. He was stalling for time hoping that the rest of his fleet could see the signal produced
by the smoke. After some time had passed, the smoke had dissipated but also the tied crew members.
Hanging from the top of the mast was Ling and as soon as the pirates spotted him, they were swarmed with
reinforcements of the Ming Treasure Fleet. Although some crew members were lost in battle, Ling did not
want the pirates to face death and left them on a deserted island. Even though Ming’s eyes were glowing
with vengeance earlier, he wanted nothing but to reconcile with his brother.
With now a new goal of finding and reconciling with his brother, Ming had now set sail again. This was the
seventh time that Ming had gone on a voyage and he also had a feeling that it would be the most important.
After months on the unpredictable ocean, there was still no sight of Wong. Most of his crew members had
already concluded that he had dropped to the ocean bed from getting caught in the crossfire when the
reinforcements arrived. Despite all odds were against Ming, he still had only one thought in mind. He told
everyone every day of the journey that, 'If my brother could survive a whirlpool, he can survive this.'
Although Ming hoped that this would motivate the crew to pull through this journey, almost half of the
crew had quit or joined another ship.
After days of rationing food, they could only last one more night. That same night, Ming was scouring the
sea with his spyglass to hopefully find his brother. He could not find his brother, but he did see a battle
between two ships occurring near them and it was odd for Ming. The Ming Treasure Fleet had gained such
a reputation that once pirates saw their flag, they would avert away from them. Yet this ship was attacking
right in front of them, almost as if they were trying to mock them. Ming decided that after stopping this
attack, they would sail back to their home.
Once they arrived at the battlefield, they tactically devised a plan to help the victims but also not suffer many
casualties. Soon after, they boarded the ship only to find that the assailants were Wong’s crew. Ming saw the
victims and could see they were bludgeoned repeatedly without any sense of remorse. Ming was filled with
anger that he yelled out, 'An eye for an eye!' Ming immediately lunged towards Wong and tackled him
towards the ground.
Wong felt that one of his ribs had been fractured from the tackled. This was another lesson he learned from
Ming’s teachers which was to aim for vital points. A normal would be in agony but Wong only grinned.
Wong’s crew were also in combat with Ming’s crew and were evenly matched. Clashing of swords and
screaming from pain could be heard. Wong could only laugh amidst of the chaos that was happening around
him. He then started to explain how he turned out this way to Ming. As they clashed their swords, they
were also in a meaningful conversation.
Wong explained that the whirlpool he entered released his ‘true self’ and realised that he could control his
own crew. However, Ming was still confused at why he would attack other ships and not want peace.
Wong emphasised that he didn’t want recognition from how giving they were, but from how terrifying they
were. Amidst all the chaos, there was a loud blowing noise that could be heard. Ming and Wong spotted a
cyclone approaching them and decided to retreat. Both ships tried to move towards the land, but the
cyclone had such a powerful vacuum that they could not get out of this danger.