1942 Nowhere to Hide
âWe need to find a way to exit this Heaven. We might have escaped for now, but thereâs still a chance we might be found by Seven Spirit,â Han Sen said.
âIf you do not know how to get out of here, then you should know that I donât, either,â Haiâer said. She thought for a moment. âCanât you turn invisible? If we stay invisible, then Seven Spiritâs clones wonât be able to find us, will they?â
Han Sen shook his head. âThere are limitations to remaining invisible, as I cannot keep it up for long.â
Little Invisible could make Han Sen invisible, but Han Sen was carrying another person. It would be too much for him to handle. The creature was still just a baby. And after the amount of time they had spent invisible earlier, all its energy had been drained.
âWhat do you plan to do, then?â Haiâer was standing atop a dune. She scanned the desert, afraid their nemesis would return.
âDonât stand there,â Han Sen told her, motioning her down from the top of the dune. Then, he said, âI thought you were of the Pirate. You might just be Viscount, but you should be able to stay alive, right?â
âNormally, of course. Even if there was a Duke on our heels, I could stay alive. But this is Seven Spirit, so I canât be entirely sure.â Haiâer gave a wry smile.
âIf it was just one clone, do you think you could make it out?â Han Sen asked, after some thought.
âIf there was just one, then I guess I could. But my method can only protect me.â Haiâer looked glum, saying that.
âThat is enough. I will go to Seven Spiritâs true self. His clones will be coming for me, but that will allow you to go back the way you came and leave. If Seven Spirit does not recall his clones, though, then youâll be on your own,â Han Sen said.
Haiâer looked at Han Sen and said, âWhy are you helping me?â
Haiâer hailed from the Pirate. She found it hard to believe a stranger would help her formulate a plan of escape at his own expense.
Han Sen smiled and said, âNo matter what reason he has for trying to kill me, he waited until only the two of us remained. That means he doesnât want others to know what he wants to do. If you make it out, perhaps heâll give up on the idea of killing me. And if he doesnât give up, at least you can spread the news of what actually happened. You could inform Knife Queen. If you canât, Iâll die for nothing. Vengeance wonât be sought.â
Han Sen paused, then went on to say, âSeven Spirit is coming after me. I cannot escape, and this is the only gambit we have available.â
Haiâer looked at Han Sen for a while, and then spoke. âIf I can make it out, I will inform Knife Queen.â
âItâs a deal, then. You walk east, and Iâll go west.â Han Sen looked at the time, and then continued. âHe should be on his way back by now. Go on, and good luck.â
Han Sen stood up and ran to the west. Although Haiâer was worried, she knew if she went along with Han Sen, she might very well die. So, she went east.
Haiâer did not dare run too quickly, though. She was afraid Han Sen might use her as bait, so just in case, she went slowly.
If Han Sen was going west, Seven Spirit should bump into him first whenever he turned back. When that occurred, she would have her chance to escape.
Han Sen was not that graceful, though. He walked west, looking around as he went.
Because he had been in that place for a while, and the music affected people a lot, it was fortunate Han Senâs will was as strong as it was. It didnât affect him as it did the others.
After a while, Han Sen stopped walking. He looked around and buried himself inside one of the dunes. Once inside the sand, he cast Petrify to turn himself into stone. Not even a deified elite could find him there.
Now, all Han Sen had to do was wait. He was going to wait until Seven Spirit came past. And when the hound did, heâd emerge.
If Seven Spirit was walking slow, then Haiâer should encounter a clone. If she did, sheâd surely attract Seven Spirit in that direction. But Han Sen wasnât certain sheâd entice the attention of Seven Spirit himself. If Seven Spirit found out that Haiâer was alone, heâd still want to search for Han Sen, more than anything.
Han Sen reviewed every possible way this situation could unfold, and he formulated a method for dealing with each circumstance. Suddenly, though, he felt as if a being had just walked past. He was buried under the sand, though, and he couldnât use Dongxuan Aura to be certain. He couldnât be sure that it was Seven Spirit.
The creature was slowly heading east. He had walked past where Han Sen was hiding, headed on an eastbound trajectory. Han Sen assumed it had to be Seven Spirit, since who else would walk backwards when they were this late in the game? Han Sen waited until the presence went by, hoping to head the opposite direction after Seven Spirit passed.
But Seven Spirit only walked east for a bit before turning back. He was searching for something.
âHan Sen, do you want to die down where you are? Or do you want to go out fighting?â Seven Spirit Buddha asked.
Han Sen frowned and thought, âWeird. How does he know Iâm here?â
Han Sen was a little worried, but he didnât move from his position within the sand dune. If the felon knew where Han Sen was, it was likely that heâd already have attacked. He wouldnât bother talking.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Seven Spirit waited a bit for a response to come, but none came. He didnât actually know where Han Sen was. But it seemed as if he knew Han Sen was somewhere nearby, as he didnât leave the approximate region.
âHe must have a way to sense my general presence, but he canât find me. This is a tough spot to be in,â Han Sen was thinking.
Seven Spirit stopped. He mumbled something, and then the sand was kicked into turmoil again. The wind whipped into a raging tornado. Wherever it went, the sand flew everywhere. It dug up a thousand meters of desert.
âMarquises are stubborn. It must be costing a lot of power for him to keep searching that way,â Han Sen thought. It also made him feel disappointment.
Even if he had turned into stone, Seven Spirit would find him if he dug too deeply into the sand.
Han Sen was not in a rush to move, however. He waited for the tornado to come. He wasnât going to move until he was found, in the hope that Seven Spirit would exhaust most of his energy.