Lin Shen and Palace Master Lingyue saw several small boats heading toward the dock. After the boats docked, a dozen men from the Black Miao Clan got off. A plump Black Miao man among them was their leader.
Drawing his Miao saber, the leader shouted, "Once we're inside, leave no one alive except the princess. Kill!"
With that, the Heimiao Soldiers charged toward Shuiyue Palace. Before long, the battle cries of the Miao men and the terrified screams of the slaughtered women echoed through the air.
Palace Master Lingyue said, "My young friend, it is time."
Using his magic, Lin Shen conjured a massive boulder that completely blocked the path.
He then used the Summoning Technique to summon dozens of Goblins. Just to be safe, Lin Shen left ten Javelin Goblins behind to keep watch. He and Palace Master Lingyue charged toward Shuiyue Palace with the remaining Goblins.
Inside Shuiyue Palace, the ground was littered with the corpses of seven or eight Taoist nuns and two or three Heimiao Soldiers. Granny was leading the surviving palace attendants in protecting Zhao Ling'er.
At that moment, a Taoist nun sneaked up behind Granny. Granny shouted, "A-Mei, protect Ling'er and get out of here! I'll fight these scum to the death!"
The nun feigned compliance and replied, "Understood!" Then, catching Granny off guard, she stabbed her in the back. Granny spat blood and collapsed to the ground.
Zhao Ling'er cried out, "Granny! Granny!"
Granny turned her head to look at the nun and said, "You... you!"
The nun laughed and said, "Hahaha, you didn't expect this, did you, you old hag?"
"You... you're actually with the Worship-Moon Cult!"
"That's right. I spent ten years as an undercover spy just for today."
Ignoring her injuries, Granny shouted, "The rest of you, hurry and cover Ling'er's escape!"
The Heimiao leader immediately lunged forward. Two Taoist nuns tried to protect Granny, but the Heimiao leader cut them down on the spot with a single slash each.
The Heimiao leader walked up to Granny and said, "Old hag, I bet you never expected to be in such a pathetic state. Let's not waste words—hand over the princess, and I'll give you a quick death!"
Zhao Ling'er stepped in front of Granny to shield her, shouting, "Don't you dare hurt Granny!"
"That's not up to you anymore!" With that, the Heimiao leader raised his saber and swung at Zhao Ling'er.
Zhao Ling'er closed her eyes and whispered softly, "Brother Xiaoyao, goodbye forever!"
At that very instant, a furious roar thundered from outside: "Anyone who dares harm Ling'er has a death wish!"
Immediately following the voice, a Fireball flew into Shuiyue Palace and struck the leader squarely in the chest. With a deafening explosion, the Heimiao leader was blasted into dust.
The remaining men cried out in panic, "Oh no, the leader is dead! The leader is dead!"
"Who did this?" "Who was it? Show yourself!"
Another booming voice echoed from outside: "You despicable cowards, stop your wild insolence!"
Looking toward the palace gates, everyone saw Palace Master Lingyue accompanied by a stranger none of them recognized, leading a pack of menacing, writhing little imps.
Seeing that Palace Master Lingyue was still alive, Zhao Ling'er cried out, "Master!"
Granny couldn't believe her eyes either. Weakly, she murmured, "A... A-Wen, is that you?"
Palace Master Lingyue said, "Qiluo, Ling'er, we'll talk about this later."
The Palace Master then exchanged a glance with Lin Shen. Lin Shen used his ring to conjure a blade and shouted, "Little ones, attack!"
At Lin Shen's command, the Goblins charged at the Black Miao Clan. Instantly, the two sides clashed in fierce combat, the continuous clanging of weapons filling the air.
Realizing the situation had turned sour, the undercover spy quietly slipped away.
The surviving Taoist nuns escorted Granny and Zhao Ling'er toward the back.
A Heimiao Soldier spotted them and rushed forward, running a Taoist nun through with a spear. Just as he raised his weapon to finish off Granny, Lin Shen used Soru to instantly teleport himself and the Palace Master right in front of Zhao Ling'er.
Lin Shen kicked out fiercely, sending the soldier's spear flying, then grabbed the soldier's head and declared, "You're courting death!" With a crackle of electricity, he blasted the man to smithereens. Seeing this horrific scene, Zhao Ling'er screamed in terror.
Another Miao soldier picked up a sword and hurled it at Zhao Ling'er.
Lin Shen caught the sword out of the air and threw it right back. The blade pierced the soldier's throat, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud.
Lin Shen turned to Zhao Ling'er and said, "Ling'er, don't worry. With me and your master here, you're going to be safe."
With her mind scrambled by the sudden chaos, Zhao Ling'er could only nod mechanically.
Realizing that words were useless right now, Lin Shen snapped his fingers, and Granny's wounds began to slowly heal. He then told Zhao Ling'er, "Ling'er, protect your Granny. I'll be right back."
With that, Lin Shen hoisted his blade and charged into the battlefield, slashing left and right, cutting down several Miao soldiers with a single stroke each.
Realizing the battle was lost, the four Miao soldiers at the entrance tried to flee. But moments later, after all their comrades had been slain, they turned and bolted from the gate.
Granny called out, "They're running away!"
Lin Shen and Palace Master Lingyue, however, remained entirely calm. Palace Master Lingyue said, "Don't worry, they won't get away. My young friend, I leave them to you."
Lin Shen replied, "Daoist Priest, leave it to me."
With that, Lin Shen led the Goblins in pursuit of the retreating Miao soldiers. At this point, Shuiyue Palace was in utter ruin; the ground was littered with corpses—palace attendants, Black Miao tribesmen, and a few Goblins alike—and the heavy stench of blood in the air was nauseating.
Granny asked, "A-Wen, what... what on earth is going on here?"
Zhao Ling'er also asked, "Master, didn't you ascend to immortality long ago? What is happening?"
Palace Master Lingyue replied, "It's a long story. Let me tend to your injuries first."
Granny said, "I'm fine. Take a look at Ling'er instead."
Palace Master Lingyue checked and saw that Granny's wounds were indeed nearly healed, realizing this was Lin Shen's doing. She then began channeling her internal energy to heal Ling'er and the surviving nuns.
The fleeing Miao soldiers sprinted toward the dock, only to find their retreat blocked by the massive boulder. In their panic, a volley of javelins rained down from the earthen slope above, instantly impaling two of the soldiers. The remaining two turned and ran back, right into the path of Lin Shen and the pursuing Goblin forces.
Lin Shen said, "Are you going to slit your own throats, or do I have to do it myself?"
The two Miao soldiers exchanged glances, raised their sabers, and lunged at Lin Shen. Lin Shen responded with a single Fireball, reducing both of them to ashes.
Lin Shen returned to Shuiyue Palace with the remaining Goblins. Palace Master Lingyue asked, "What happened to the fleeing Miao soldiers?"
"They've gone to report to the King of Hell." Lin Shen then ordered the Goblins to clear the bodies, moving the corpses of the Black Miao tribesmen and Goblins outside of Shuiyue Palace, while gathering the bodies of the Shuiyue Palace attendants to be neatly arranged.
Zhao Ling'er asked, "What are you going to do to my martial sisters?"
Lin Shen asked, "Granny, Ling'er, count and see if the numbers match up."
Granny and Zhao Ling'er walked over. Unable to bear the sight of her dead martial sisters, Zhao Ling'er turned her head away.
Granny carefully counted the bodies and said, "Young man, we're one short. A-Mei is missing!"
Lin Shen asked, "Who is A-Mei?"
"She's an undercover spy for the Worship-Moon Cult. She was the one who stabbed me in the back."
Palace Master Lingyue also came over and did a headcount. "My young friend, A-Mei is indeed missing. You were right—there is a spy inside Shuiyue Palace!"
Granny, Ling'er, and the others were completely bewildered, having no idea what the two of them were talking about. Granny said, "I'll take a team to search right now. I'll dig three feet into the ground to find her."
Lin Shen waved his hand and said, "It's still pitch black outside. Where do you expect to find her?"
Granny asked, "Then what do you suggest we do?"
Without a word, Lin Shen closed his eyes and cast his Observation Haki across the entirety of Xianling Island. He discovered that A-Mei was hiding in the Spirit Pond, breathing through a bamboo reed held in her mouth. He said to Palace Master Lingyue, "Daoist Priest, I'll be right back." With that, Lin Shen vanished.
Granny tried to stop him, but he disappeared too fast. She turned to Palace Master Lingyue and said, "This is too dangerous! You need to make him come back."
Palace Master Lingyue replied, "There's no need. Let's just wait here patiently for my young friend to return."
"Well, who on earth is this young man anyway?"
"We can discuss everything once he gets back."
"Should we gather the bodies of our fallen people in the meantime?"
"There's no need for that either. We'll deal with them together when my young friend returns."
Looking at her fallen martial sisters, Zhao Ling'er knelt before them and sobbed, "It's all my fault. If I hadn't let Brother Xiaoyao in, none of this would have ever happened. My sisters, I'm so sorry." With that, Zhao Ling'er broke down in tears.
Palace Master Lingyue helped Zhao Ling'er to her feet and said, "Don't blame yourself; this isn't your fault. With our young friend here, everything will be alright. Don't be sad anymore."
Meanwhile, Lin Shen arrived at the Spirit Pond and spotted the tip of the bamboo reed sticking out of the water. *I didn't expect this spy to know Eastern ninjutsu,* Lin Shen thought. *She even knows this kind of breathing technique.*
He picked up a lump of mud and threw it, plugging the opening of the reed. Bubbles soon rose to the surface, and a woman burst out from the water, gasping for air.
Lin Shen grabbed her by the throat and slammed her down onto the ground. Unfortunately, he used a bit too much force; the spy's neck snapped instantly under the pressure, and after coughing up a mouthful of blood, she died.
With no other choice, Lin Shen used a bolt of electricity to reduce her body to ashes, flicked the remnants into a random ditch, and returned to Shuiyue Palace using the Dimensional Travel Technique.
Seeing Lin Shen return, Palace Master Lingyue asked, "What happened to the spy?"
With a calm expression, Lin Shen replied, "Dead. She's already turned to ash by now."
Lin Shen walked over to the bodies of the fallen palace attendants, bit his finger, and let a drop of fresh blood fall to the ground. A massive magical array instantly enveloped the fallen women.
Gazing solemnly at the women, Lin Shen watched as their wounds slowly began to heal. Granny and Zhao Ling'er walked over, and Zhao Ling'er asked, "Big Brother, what are you doing?"
Lin Shen glanced at Zhao Ling'er and replied, "Dragging them back from the jaws of death, of course."
Looking skeptical, Zhao Ling'er asked, "Can that actually work?"
Pointing at Palace Master Lingyue, Lin Shen said, "That's how your master was saved."
With that, Lin Shen walked outside. He incinerated the fallen Miao soldiers with a single Fireball, and as for the dead Goblins—
Lin Shen snapped his fingers; the living ones were teleported away, and the dead ones turned to ash. Seeing that everything was more or less taken care of, Lin Shen headed back inside Shuiyue Palace.
(End of Chapter 15)