Zhan Hongsheng roared, "You arrogant brat!" He clamped his legs sharply against his horse's flanks. The Black Charger neighed and charged toward the middle of the bridge. It was a magnificent steed, reaching full speed in moments, swift as a gale. Zhan Hongsheng raised his heavy spear, horse and rider moving as one, man and spear united. The spearhead hissed through the air like a venomous snake flicking its tongue, thrusting straight for Xiong Tianba's throat.
Xiong Tianba did not budge. He stared blankly ahead, but he was not looking at Zhan Hongsheng. His eye had been caught by the Black Charger beneath him. For all his extraordinary prowess, Xiong Tianba had never had a decent mount. He had borrowed Hu Xiaotian's Little Gray once and liked him immensely, but he could hardly steal another man's beloved horse. He had taken a liking to this Black Charger at first sight. Laughing heartily, he said, "Not bad!"
Everyone thought he was praising Zhan Hongsheng's spear technique. None of them realized he was actually praising the horse.
Just as the spear reached him, Xiong Tianba swept his left hammer sideways. Clang! It struck the spearhead squarely. With his tremendous strength, that single blow knocked the tip askew, and the shaft writhed like a wildly dancing snake. Zhan Hongsheng could not hold on. The skin between his thumbs and forefingers split open from the shock, and the spear flew from his hands, tracing an arc toward the surging river. Xiong Tianba's right hammer drove straight into Zhan Hongsheng's chest, knocking him backward out of the saddle. He flew seventy or eighty feet before crashing onto the bridge, his bones shattered and sinews torn. Clearly, he would not survive.
Suddenly bereft of its rider, the Black Charger turned to flee. Quick of eye and