Ching Shih was leaning against the bow of the ship, overlooking the fire-lit scene of the crewmates celebrating their haul. He raised his glass slightly, saluting Wanderer as he trotted over.
"Hah, I don't think I've ever seen Qing that red before, you must have really hit her where it hurts."
It would have been hard for him, or anyone else for that matter, to miss it. The slapping sound that had come from the room was so loud that it practically echoed across the deck, and then Liya Qing stomped out while as red as a tomato, it didn't need a genius to connect the dots.
"I... I may hav... No, I did go overboard. But Miss Qing asked me to be honest so it didn't feel right to lie. I hope she won't be too insulted."
Wanderer didn't immediately lean against the railing like Ching Shih, maintaining a respectful distance. But Ching Shih simply waved him over and pat the railing at his side, turning so that he could gaze upon the dark desert and the crescent moon looming over it.
"Don't worry about it too much, no one here is so weak-hearted that we'll let a bit of humiliation get to us. She'll be back to normal in a few days or so. But really, the way she stomped out, you'd think you had insulted her mother. Just what did you say to her?"
Ching Shih sipped his drink as he spoke, a slight curve to his lips. He told the other crew members to party and feast as much as they wanted, but he himself seemed to be sticking to simple water, maintaining a clear head. Wanderer mulled it over for a bit but eventually told Ching Shih exactly what he had told Liya Qing, causing the captain to burst into laughter.
"Haha, yeah, now I get it! Disgusting, heh? You've got a surprisingly vicious tongue, Wanderer, nice going."
Ching Shih continued to chuckle quietly for a bit, his cup shaking. It really must have been one hell of a blow to Liya Qing's pride, to be told something so upfront after baring herself. Wanderer could do nothing but look helpless, his somewhat aimless eyes drifting across the desert.
"I couldn't help it. The emotions just welled up from within me, disgust and anger. I felt like I wanted to shout, to scream. They were warm, searing, they burned in my chest. But I... I don't even know why I felt like that. Why is she disgusting? Why was I angry as I lay there? I felt it all, but I don't know a single thing... Not even my own name..."
The pain of amnesia, of instincts buried within. He bore the emotions, their cost and consequences. But why? Why did he bear them? He didn't know, he couldn't know, yet he had to bear them all the same. Ching Shih placed down his drink and reached out with his hand, placing it on top of Wanderer's head and ruffling his hair.
"The disgust can mean any number of things, but that anger probably means you've already found the one."
The smile on Ching Shih's face was exceedingly soft and gentle in the light of the moon, it was a smile of understanding and remisicence. But Wanderer didn't quite understand what he meant so he needed Ching Shih to clarify it for him.
"The one?"
"The other half of your soul, the one you're determined to spend the rest of your existence with, the greatest treasure you'll ever manage to find."
Ching Shih's hand slowly trailed away from Wanderer's head, resting on the railing in front of him as his distant gaze slid across the horizon. He looked like he was searching for something, but the slight traces of bleak light in his eyes told Wanderer that whatever he was searching for was something he could never find. So he questioned.
"...Have you found your one?"
The one, the person who could complete you. If Ching Shih had managed to find this person, why did he look so sad as he gazed upon the horizon? Ching Shih didn't hide it, nodding his head with a gentle and forlorn smile.
"I did. She was beautiful, her heart alone shone with the light of a thousand suns. But, sometimes you find the one early on, and then they leave you just as early. All of a sudden you're alone, empty, incomplete. But no matter how many pieces of you fall away as they do, a little bit of them will always remain in you. The rest of the crew think I'm a great captain, but I've only managed to retain a single ray of her light, she was worlds better than me."
Had she died? Or had he not been her one, forcing a separation? Wanderer didn't know, Ching Shih hadn't specified it. But he could feel the pain in Ching Shih's expression, he looked a bit hollow and lost. But Ching Shih didn't allow himself to immerse in those emotions for too long, casting a sideways glance at Wanderer before speaking.
"She had a saying, well, her great grandmother had a saying. If you're worried about those unknown emotions, just think about it. Faith is the reward of the faithful."
Faith... it was a word that didn't seem to have much to do with their current conversation. But Wanderer did not think that Ching Shih would just mention it out of nowhere so he laid bare his ignorance and asked for clarification.
"What does it mean?"
Ching Shih honestly looked a bit taken aback by the fact that Wanderer didn't understand the meaning behind the saying, he didn't seem to have considered this turn of events. But he only had to wrack his mind for a few seconds before he came up with a suitable analogy.
"Hmmm... remember when we broke through the storm? You had to gather the residue from the array, didn't you? And in doing so, you had to let go of the rope and drop down so that Zen could catch you. One wrong move and you would have died. But even so, you did it. You performed the task admirably and let go. You trusted that Chao Zen would catch you, you had faith in him. And in turn, they had faith in you, in the idea that you would complete the task, faith in the fact that you would believe in them. You had faith, and your reward for it was faith. So, faith belongs to the faithful, Wanderer, it is their reward."
Faith for the faithful. It was simpler than it first appeared, but at the same time, it also seemed to become a bit more complicated as Wanderer tried to think it over. Ching Shih saw his expression and chuckled lightly, slowly reaching out with his arm again.
"Haha, no need to mull it over that seriously! You'll understand it so..."
He didn't get to finish his words, a loud and panicked shout coming from amidst the crew members that were still celebrating.
"Doushi! Medicine, we need medicine!"
Ching Shih spun around instantly, knocking his glass down from the railing and into the sand. Wanderer mimicked him and turned towards the commotion, the crew members were gathered around the table where they had gathered the jars of alcohol. The two hurried over and made their way through the crowd, Ching Shih directing an authoritative gaze towards the man who had shouted.
"What's going on?! Report!"
The middle-aged man was crouched down slightly, holding another man that Wanderer had met a few times. The man was breathing heavily, his throat swollen painfully. His shirt had been torn, probably to make it easier to breathe, revealing his chest, which had a few white spots slowly appearing.
"Cap, Bao suddenly started to cough violently after drinking some alcohol. His throat seems to be clogging up and a few white spots have started to appear on his chest! We need Doushi!"
Yao Kun Doushi, the ship's doctor, responsible for the health of everyone on board. Ching Shih's narrowed eyes swept over the fallen man, who had knocked over most of the alcohol as he collapsed into his friend's arms. He turned his head sharply and shouted at the black-haired Doushi, who was already rushing over.
"Doushi! Bring your antidote equipment, check for everything you can! The rest of you, drop all the alcohol and meat, don't touch any of it!"
Doushi halted in his tracks and spun around, rushing to his cabin so that he could gather his equipment. The rest of the crewmembers immediately did as their captain said, spitting out whatever meat or alcohol they had in their mouths. Doushi quickly returned, a loose grasp on a myriad of different tools and jars as he rushed over. He dropped all the items next to Bao and squatted down, barking out orders as he prepared his items.
"Captain, I'll need some of his blood for a test. Yi Sao, keep his mouth open and help him breathe. Qing, make sure his blood keeps flowing!"
The ones who were called upon immediately acted, Yi Sao keeping Bao's mouth open and massaging his throat while using her Qi to guide air down his throat. Liya Qing placed her hands on Bao's abdomen and used her own Qi to aid his blood flow, making sure that oxygen kept circulating.
Doushi prepared a large ceramic plate and poured the contents of several different jars onto it. Some were in powder form, others were a paste, and some came in the form of dried or fresh herbs. Once he had finished setting up, Ching Shih' made a cut in Bao's arm and drained some of the blood onto the plate before he closed up the wound.
Doushi focused all his attention on the plate, using a silver needle filled with energy to push the blood around. He made the blood touch each of the medicines he had poured onto the plate, and one by one the medicines started to sizzle and melt, withering until nothing but blood remained on the plate. Doushi's expression was extremely unpleasant when he saw the result, Ching Shih already able to guess the answer as he questioned.
"It's bad?"
"Extremely. The poison is vicious, it seems to constantly change properties to counteract the various antidotes. With what I have on hand, the best I can manage is more standard antidotes, but there's no way they'll have any effect."
It was painful to admit, but that was all Doushi could do. He was set up to deal with most of the common poisons they may encounter, but this was a poison that had festered in alcohol from before the cradle fell and the Wandering Desert was created. It was far removed from what he usually dealt with, he simply didn't have the tools on hand to do anything useful. But Ching Shih didn't give up, his expression dark but determined as he gave an order.
"Yi Sao, I'll take over the breathing assistance, bring me the haul."
Yi Sao understood him perfectly well, not even hesitating before she stood up and rushed towards the ship's storeroom. She quickly returned, carrying a small wooden box that everyone on the ship recognized by now. Someone in the crowd couldn't help but speak up, but a sharp glare from Ching Shih silenced them before they could say anything meaningful.
"You..."
"Quiet."
Yi Sao opened the box to reveal the Spirit Stone they had picked up earlier, the source of this entire feast and celebration. This small crystal could provide for the entire ship for several years, it was the greatest treasure they had ever picked up. But now Ching Shih grabbed the crystal and brought out a knife, shaving off small pieces that fell into Bao's open mouth.
The shavings dissolved when they entered his body, turning into pure energy that rushed through his veins and flesh. The swelling of his throat fell somewhat, no more white spots appearing on his chest as the surge of pure energy repressed the poison. Ching Shih spat out a heavy breath when he saw that it was effective, at the very least the brute force approach hadn't failed them.
"Phew... at least the symptoms have lessened somewhat. Tell me, Doushi, if we keep suppressing the poison like this, will you be able to cure it?"
He couldn't help but ask, he had to ask. In the end, what they were doing now was nothing but suppressing the poison, once they used up the last of this Spirit Stone, Bao would die all the same. The poison had to be cured, and there was no one else here he could ask. But Doushi didn't respond straight away, suckling on his teeth for a moment before he gave a hesitant answer.
"...If I can get my hands on more ingredients then I can try, but I cannot make any promises."
He couldn't lie. He had no idea what sort of poison they were dealing with right now so he didn't have the slightest guarantee that he'd be able to deal with it. He could do everything in his power, but in the end he may still fail. But a chance was still better than no chance, Ching Shih nodding his head strongly and barking out orders to everyone.
"Very well. Raise the anchor! We're heading for Skewer's Rest at full speed! Scrounge up anything we have of value, if the need arises then we'll have to head to Ninth Star City!"
The crew members loudly accepted the order and rushed to their positions, the festive mood all but thrown to the back of their minds. The anchor was raised in no time and the ship started to tear through the sand again as it rushed towards its target.
The meat and alcohol were tested, but no more traces of poison were found so it was likely that the poison had been in one of the jars he broke when he collapsed. But the crew members didn't dare to touch them anyway so it was all dumped over the board, no one wanted to risk ending up like Bao. Ching Shih spat out another heavy breath as Bao was taken away to a cabin, Yi Sao sticking with him to suppress the poison whenever it seemed to flare up again.
"Wanderer. You spoke about your name earlier, didn't you? About not knowing it?"
Surprisingly enough, Ching Shih turned to Wanderer once everything had quieted down somewhat. They were the two who didn't have a job right now, the ship was able to move perfectly fine even if they did nothing. Wanderer nodded his head slightly to the question, it had indeed been one of his passing complaints earlier. Ching Shih slowly walked over to the railing at the side of the ship, rubbing the spot between his eyes slightly.
"Do you know why we gave you the name Wanderer? Why we accepted it? We could have given you any number of names, even after Yi Sao gave you that name. We could have used any number of nicknames, but we stuck to Wanderer. Why do you think we did that?"
It was indeed a bit puzzling. Wanderer, it was a title more than it was a name. Yet almost everyone on the ship called him by that name, only occasionally would he hear Newbie, or Kiddo from Yi Sao. He didn't need to answer Ching Shih's question, the answer was evident on his expression.
"Because that is your freedom. You are lost, so hopelessly lost that everything around you is a haze. And so, you wander. You wander around and search for the truth, traces of a past you can't even remember. That's your freedom, the freedom to wander and search, to stumble through the darkness as you search for yourself, who you are and what you want to do."
Ching Shih did not believe that it was possible to be more lost than Wanderer. No name, no past, no information. He had nothing and he knew nothing, everything was unknown and foreign to him. So he had no choice but to stumble through the darkness as he searched, as he wandered.
Ching Shih turned his head slightly, his gaze lingering on the spot where Bao had collapsed, where he had removed a piece of the Spirit Stone to temporarily save him.
"A handful of the crewmembers probably don't fully agree with my actions just now. Using a High-grade Spirit Stone to suppress a poison affecting only one man? And it may not even save his life in the end? It would have been better to save it and allow nature to take its course. They don't mean anything bad by it, they probably don't even want to have those thoughts to begin with. But that's just how people are, sometimes they have thoughts they don't desire. But I am the Captain, that is the name I have been given. The freedom of the wanderer is to take his time to find himself and the freedom of the captain is to be selfish when it comes to the lives of his men. Keep that in mind, Wanderer, the freedom that comes with each name."
Ching Shih, Captain of the Sand Sovereign. That was his main title, that was his freedom and his duty, no matter what others may try to say. Wanderer didn't say anything in response, he didn't really know what he could even say. But Ching Shih seemed to take his silence as puzzlement, his gaze drifting towards the distant horizon as he explained himself.
"...Skewer's Rest and Ninth Star City, they'll be the first places with other people that we'll take you. When we get there, follow the freedom of your name, as long as you do that, we'll be content with the outcome."