The Five Ancestors by Jeff Stone

Author:Jeff Stone [Stone, Jeff]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General, Fiction, Juvenile Fiction, Animals, Action & Adventure, Historical, Martial arts, China, Human-animal relationships
ISBN: 0375830804
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Published: 2010-02-09T00:00:00+00:00

Long woke the next morning feeling rested. He ate a quick breakfast, changed into a pair of heavy cloth riding pants, and followed DingXiang outside to receive instructions on how and when to use GuangZe’s custom hoof boots. GuangZe was very accommodating, and within half an hour the lesson was over. Long slipped the boots into his saddlebag, waved goodbye to DingXiang, and rode into the Gobi’s seemingly endless sea of half-frozen sand.

GuangZe’s hooves sank deeply into the shifting sands. The poor animal had to work several times harder than normal for every step he took. Long was happy to see that the sand did not deter the horse, but it did make GuangZe wary, and he changed his gait considerably. Between the shifting sand and his new pants, Long felt like he was learning to ride all over again.

After half a day, Long was finally getting used to the new riding motions when the terrain began to change. The ground beneath GuangZe grew firm, and massive rock beds rose ahead of them out of the sand. Long stopped to put on GuangZe’s hoof boots, drink some water from his water skins, and check his map.

The map included crude sketches of major rock formations to serve as reference points, and Long felt fortunate that even after the recent rock slides, he was able to figure out where he was. Up to this point, he had been attempting to ride due west, using the sun as his only compass point. Judging from the map, he had veered a fair amount to the north. This turned out to be just fine, because north was the direction of the pass he was supposed to take through the rocks.

He saw the pass less than half a li away and grinned. Though the deep sand was slowing them down, they were still making excellent time. By his calculation, they would reach Tunhuang in three days or less. He had more than enough food and water to get him there, and the fur-lined coat and hat NgGung had given him were doing an admirable job of keeping the cold at bay.

He reached the pass and was relieved to find that it was open, as DingXiang’s apprentice had said. Strangely enough, once they were between the towering boulders, Long’s dan tien began to warm. He halted the horse and looked all around, but saw nothing.

Then he looked up.

A large man dressed head to toe in black dropped a net over Long. The net was ringed with rocks, and it pressed down on him with incredible force. It was difficult for Long to raise his arms, and nearly impossible to raise his head in order to see straight.

GuangZe stamped his hooves nervously, but to his credit stood his ground. Long heard horses’ hooves pounding against the rocky ground around a bend ahead, and he fought to free himself. It was no use. The more he struggled, the worse he got tangled in the coarse webbing. He realized that

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