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 helping. Wu conquer Chu. Yet he suffered agonies of remorse（懊悔，同情） , because his countrymen called him a traitor. 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） .