The seven warriors clearly had not expected their opponents to make such a choice. The man wearing the Bronze Mask reacted first, taking a great stride forward with his right foot before abruptly soaring more than twenty feet into the air. Then he swooped down like a falcon, slashing his long saber through the empty air. Its thin blade cleaved the dense rain at an incredible speed, and the fierce force of his slash split the space ahead in two, sending the rain streaming aside with a shrill whistle.
The man's left foot landed firmly on the edge of the rock. Behind the openings in the Bronze Mask, his brown eyes suddenly sharpened. His slash had missed its target. Rain and mist swirled through the valley, and even his keen eyes could not make out what was happening below.
His six companions reached his back almost simultaneously. The warrior wearing the Bronze Mask extended his right hand, signaling them all to keep their distance. He sheathed his saber and tilted his head to listen, his right ear twitching at an astonishing rate in the autumn wind.
When Hu Xiaotian and Princess Anping leaped into the valley, rain and mist had already sealed it off completely. The Pine Tree they had seen earlier was no longer visible; they had made the jump relying entirely on their memory of its position. Fortunately, Hu Xiaotian's memory was good, and his leap had not strayed off course. He landed on the Pine Tree, snapping its branches under his weight, and continued falling. In his panic, he reached out and managed to seize a branch. When Princess Anping jumped, she had already placed her fate entirely in his hands. The sensation of plunging from such a height filled her with terror, but she forced herself