Hu Xiaotian broke out in a cold sweat too. Little Gray slowly lowered its forehooves. Less than ten feet ahead, the mountain path ended at a deep ravine, with a mountain stream rushing through its lowest depths. A bridge had once stood here, but it had long since been destroyed. The ravine stretched roughly seventy feet across.
The color drained from Tang Qingxuan's lovely face. She had thought they were about to escape with their lives, only to discover that this path was a dead end. The pursuers behind them were drawing ever closer. "What do we do?" she asked, her voice trembling.
Hu Xiaotian gently patted Little Gray's long neck and tugged the reins. "Jump across!" he said decisively.
Tang Qingxuan had grown up on horseback. The ravine before them was over seventy feet wide. For a mount to leap from this side to the other, it would need to be capable of clearing a hundred feet. That was utterly impossible. No horse of such miraculous prowess existed in this world.
Hu Xiaotian retreated more than two hundred feet, then urged Little Gray forward again. Little Gray plucked up its courage and galloped all the way to the ravine. Hu Xiaotian and Tang Qingxuan braced themselves for the leap, but Little Gray stopped once again. Fortunately, Hu Xiaotian had prepared himself and avoided being thrown off. Little Gray gazed down into the deep gorge, terror shining in its eyes. Its two long ears drooped. Clearly, it lacked the resolve and courage to cross.
The pursuers below were getting closer and closer, their shouts already audible. Zha Wan ordered his men not to shoot-he wanted both the people and the horse. Tang Qingxuan pressed her cherry-red lips together and gripped her curved saber. "Let's fight them to the death!"
Hu