"Y-You... who are you?"
The formation had been broken. A black-clothed figure stopped trying to salvage the formation flags and stared at Lu Zheng in shock.
Lu Zheng looked over and saw that the man wore a murky black robe. He had a round face, small eyes, and a ring of beard around his cheeks. Above his lips were two long, stiff horizontal mustaches that jutted out to either side.
Lu Zheng could not be bothered to answer him. Ao Kuo had already leaped forward, his spear thrusting straight at the man's throat.
The man flashed away and instantly arrived at the entrance of the great hall, turning to flee.
But the moment he reached the doorway, a thin mass of white cloud appeared before him, shrouding the entire entrance to the front hall.
The Black-Clothed Man reached out, only for his hand to sink into the white cloud. Though it appeared thin and sparse, he could not probe even an inch deeper. At the same time, the cloud qi wrapped densely around his hand, pricking him like needles.
Startled, the Black-Clothed Man hurriedly withdrew his hand. He spun around to evade Ao Kuo's spear, then grabbed out a longsword and knocked the spear aside. Looking at Lu Zheng again, he asked, "Are you a disciple of White Cloud Temple?"
Holding Lin Wan's hand, Lu Zheng fixed his gaze on the Black-Clothed Man and asked mildly, "And who are you?"
"Me?"
The Black-Clothed Man's eyes shifted. As he traded blows with Ao Kuo, he said to Lu Zheng, "I am the Water God of the Guiling River!"
"You're courting death!"
Ao Kuo shouted furiously. His spear came down like a torrential rain, whipping up a violent gale. Even the formation-reinforced great hall of the Water Mansion began to shake.
Lu