In the Spring and Autumn Period, Duke Ping of Chu was misled by slanderers（诽谤者） , and had Wu Zixu's father executed. Wu Zixu fled to the State of Wu. More than then years later, Wu Zixu took his revenge by helping¹. Wu conquer Chu. Yet he suffered agonies of remorse²（懊悔，同情） , because his countrymen called him a traitor³. He protested, "I'm just like a traveller. It's already late, but I still have a long way to go. I simply dont know what to do."

This idiom comes from the above story. It means being in a very difficult situation at the end of one's tether（范围，栓绳） .