Lou Cheng was back at Fartouat Port by noon.
Without informing Consul Mao, he took the long way and went through the streets where occasional gunfire could be heard. He then left the city on his own and entered the desert region beyond the oasis.
At that time of the day, the light from the blazing sun, unsifted and unimpeded, ignited the air and scorched the sand. Everything seemed distorted to the eye, like a mirage.
As he ran, Lou Cheng felt a significant change in his resonance with heaven and earth. The darkness was fading, the coldness diminishing. What became amplified and defined were qualities such as brightness, hotness, and denseness.
It was as though someone had zoomed into the Cosmic Universe Diagram and focused at the area surrounded in a cosmic storm.