By now, Su Yuchi's troops and Hu Xiaotian's had mingled into a single force, all racing desperately toward the same destination. The rolling roar of wind and thunder pursued them from behind. No one dared look back, afraid that even the briefest delay might cost them their chance to escape.
Hu Xiaotian slowed his horse and dropped to the rear, ordering the soldiers under his command to hurry up Dragon-Towing Mountain. The surging floodwaters had already entered his field of vision, barely two li behind the tail of the column. Only when he saw that most of the men had reached the mountain did he crack his whip and urge his horse into a full-speed gallop up the slope.
Little Gray tore across the vast earth like a gray lightning bolt streaking through the sky. Looking down from above, Xia Changming saw the advancing waterline drawing ever closer to the rear of the column. Floodwaters surged toward them, blotting out heaven and earth. Even "heart-stopping" was too mild a word for the sight.
Huo Shengnan and Zhuge Guanqi, who had reached Dragon-Towing Mountain ahead of the others, watched Hu Xiaotian anxiously. They saw the flood swallow hundreds of soldiers who had failed to reach the mountain, then chase after him like a savage, ravenous beast. Their hearts rose into their throats. At its closest, the water was only two zhang behind him. At last, the flood's headlong charge met resistance halfway up the mountain, crashing against the slope and throwing spray high into the air. Hu Xiaotian rode Little Gray out through the flying spray, both of them drenched. Now that he was safely out of danger, the soldiers cheered in unison.
Huo Shengnan could no longer hold herself back and hurried to meet him. Hu Xiaotian leaped from his