A Past Unearthed: Return of the Condor Heroes Volume 1 (Legends of the Condor Heroes) by Jin Yong

Author:Jin Yong [Yong, Jin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Quercus
Published: 2023-10-11T16:00:00+00:00

3

GRANDAM SUN BROUGHT PENANCE BACK TO THE TOMB. THEIR encounter with the Taoists had further strengthened their fledgling bond, but the boy was still uneasy, as he suspected the Dragon Maiden would refuse to relent and take him in.

“Fret not, I won’t let the matter rest until she permits you to stay.” With that solemn promise, Grandam Sun settled Penance in a chamber and went to speak with her mistress.

Penance waited, but as time passed, he grew more and more restless. Just a couple of hours ago, Auntie Long had flatly declined to offer him shelter, even for just one night. What were the chances of her allowing him to remain with them for good? Grandam Sun was probably still trying to talk the young woman around, but even if she succeeded, did he want to live in a place where he was not genuinely wanted and welcomed? The answer was not long in coming. He stood up and walked resolutely out of the room.

The moment he stepped into the dark corridor, he heard hurried footsteps, followed by Grandam Sun’s hushed voice: “Where are you going?”

“Grandam, I’m leaving. I’ll come back to see you when I’m grown up.”

“I’ll see you off,” the old woman said. “I’ll take you to a place where no-one will mistreat you.”

Penance had expected that he would have to leave, but the news still stung. “You don’t have to. I’m nothing but trouble. I don’t belong, no matter where I go. But, thank you, Grandam.”

The old woman was angry at herself for failing to sway her mistress, and a slow-burning frustration was gnawing at her stomach. The sight of the crestfallen boy now stoked it higher.

“My dear child, others may not want you, but I like you very much. I’ll stay by your side, wherever you go. Come!”

Penance was beside himself with joy. He took Grandam Sun’s hand and followed her out of the Tomb.

The old woman reached into her robe to take stock of what she had on her person for the journey. She had made the decision to leave on the spur of the moment, with no chance to pack even a change of clothes. Her hand closed around a ceramic bottle – the honey she had taken with her the first time she left the Tomb with Penance. She had intended to give it to Zhao Zhijing, to heal his bee stings, but the encounter had turned violent before she could hand it over.

However repulsive she might find the Taoist, Grandam Sun had to concede that his offences did not warrant death, and it was not her place to refuse him treatment. With that in mind, she turned towards Chongyang Temple.

When Penance realised where they were headed, he asked with a quiver in his voice: “Grandam, why are we going there?”

“To give them the cure for your stinker of a shifu.”

Flexing her toes, Grandam Sun sprang up and forward, tucking Penance under her arm. A few leaps later, they were standing at the foot of the temple’s perimeter wall.

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