Chapter 218 — The Ninth Summit
Pursuit of the Truth
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The moment they saw the man, surprise immediately appeared on the faces of the three people who had been waiting for Chen Yu Bing and the others. It was clear that they hadnât expected and did not know why this troublesome person would come to the fourth summit.
"Uncle Master⦠Huâ¦"
The three people smiled bitterly and wrapped their fists in their palms to greet the man.
The ranking system in Freezing Sky Clan was very strict. If someone did not greet those who had higher seniority, then they had to be punished. The three who had been waiting might not want to, but they still had to greet him.
Chen Yu Bing had an odd expression on his face. He instinctively looked towards Su Ming standing not too far away before wrapping his fist to greet the man. By his side, Xu Ru Yue did the same thing.
The man seemed incredibly impatient. Once he scanned through the crowd, his gaze fell on Han Fei Zi.
"Hey, lassâ¦" As he spoke, the man brought the gourd to his lips and took a big gulp before wiping his lips and barking out the rest of his question drunkenly, "Yer Su Ming?"
Han Fei Ziâs expression darkened and she cast the man a cold glare, but she did not speak.
"Aaahhh⦠just which one of youâs Su Ming? Donât make me angry!" the man shouted out, and his voice caused the snow in the area to tremble.
"I am Su. Who might you be, sir?"
Su Ming remained calm as he turned around on the edge of the platform and looked at the man.
The man scratched his head and once he sized up Su Ming, he shouted in a displeased manner, "Move. Iâm lookinâ fer Su Ming, not Su. Yer nameâs Su, you arenât the person Iâm lookinâ fer."
Once he spoke, the people on the platforms immediately bit back their laughter. If it were not because they were afraid of the manâs power, they would have laughed out loud a long time ago.
Su Ming was also stunned. He seldom met people who were as unreasonable as this person, so he could only nod with a bitter smile and speak once again. "I am Su Ming."
"Nonsense. Didnât cha just call yerself Su? Howâs it when ya heard I was lookinâ fer Su Ming, then ya immediately say yer nameâs Su Ming? Hey, Iâm tellinâ ya, yer Grandpa Hu is real smart. Donât even think about lyinâ to me! I hate people lyinâ to me the most!"
The man glared at Su Ming and stormed towards him. His face, which was filled with malice, coupled with his large build made him look incredibly intimidating.
That intimidating presence made the people standing on the platform withdraw continuously. Even Han Cang Zi, who was standing beside Su Ming, moved back a few steps instinctively, and it was all due to the intimidating presence coming from the man.
"I hate people lyinâ to me the most. That old man Tian Xie already cheated me many, many times, and then he swore not to lie to me again. He asked me to come fer Su Ming. If heâs not here, then he lied to me again." Anger appeared on the manâs face and once he was standing before Su Ming, he glared at him. "Tell me! Whoâs Su Ming?!"
Su Ming frowned. He was already thinking about why this man came the moment he saw him and how he knew his name, but when he saw Chen Yu Bingâs strange look, he already had an answer in his heart.
When he heard the man calling out Tian Xie Ziâs family name, Su Ming brought out the pot of wine Tian Xie Zi gave him from his bosom without another word.
The manâs attention was immediately drawn towards the pot of wine the moment Su Ming brought it out. Once he looked at it thoroughly, he let out a long sigh. When he looked at Su Ming once again, his gaze was no longer fierce but filled with pity instead.
"Yer Su Ming? Why didnât cha say so earlier? I had ta waste my breath askinâ so many times. Letâs go. Iâll bring ya to the old manâs cave," the man said, sighing, then with one step, his entire body left the platform.
The feeling as if something bad was about to happen grew increasingly stronger in Su Mingâs heart. After a moment of hesitation, he wrapped his fist in his palm towards Han Cang Zi, Han Fei Zi, Chen Yu Bing, Xu Ru Yue, and the others.
"Iâll take my leave first. If we ever have the chance, letâs meet up again."
"Brother Su⦠congratulations, congratulationsâ¦"
Chen Yu Bing greeted Su Ming back with an odd expression on his face.
"Once Iâm settled, Iâll come find you," Han Fei Ziâs said, her tone still icy.
"Iâm on the third summit. Brother Su, if youâre ever free, you can come and try out some of the tea I brew."
Han Cang Zi smiled softly.
Before Su Ming could reply, the man standing in midair shouted in displeasure, ."Boy, why arenât cha moving yet? Just how long are ya going to make me wait?!"
Su Ming frowned. Once he gave a nod to the crowd, he rose up. His green robes and flowing long hair gave him an elegant presence as he stood in the air.
When he saw Su Ming following him, the man instantly charged forward at full speed. As Su Ming chased after him, he saw a world covered in white snow before his eyes. He took a deep breath of the air around him. This chill reminded him of that particular winter in Dark Mountain. He fell silent, and in his silence, he followed the man. The two of them turned into long arcs and flew out of the fourth summit.
No one tried to stop them. Even if anyone saw and thought of trying to stop them, the moment they recognized the man, they would frown and avoid them.
"I canât believe that old man brought me a junior brother on the rare chance he goes out. Say, just how unlucky am I? I was drinking my wine happily on my own, and yet I had to come fetch you.
"No wait, Iâm not the one whoâs unlucky, youâre the one whoâs unlucky. Youâre seriously unlucky. Youâre very, very unlucky. Youâre really, very, absolutely unluckyâ¦"
The man occasionally turned around to look at Su Ming as he continued moving forwards, mumbling under his breath.
However, his mumbles were akin to low pitched roars in Su Mingâs ears. That voice was enough to make his ears start buzzing now that he was listening in close proximity.
Su Mingâs expression turned cold and shouted out in an icy tone, "Thatâs enough!"
The man immediately glared at Su Ming and shouted at him. "Hmm? How dare ya try to stop me from talking to myself?"
Su Ming felt the beginnings of a headache forming. It was especially so when he found that the man looked rather hurt by Su Mingâs words while shouting. Once he remembered that the man came to pick him up, and remembered that this man was highly likely Tian Xie Ziâs disciple as well judging by his words, Su Ming sighed.
âTian Xie Zi told me that I was his only discipleâ¦â
The bad feeling in Su Mingâs heart grew stronger.
"How should I address you?" Su Ming asked with a bitter laugh.
"Hmph."
The man seemed to still be angry. He turned around and ignored Su Ming, choosing instead to continue flying forward.
After a while, once the two of them passed through countless mountains, the man could not help but start talking when he saw that Su Ming did not speak anymore.
"Iâm warning ya. Donât talk to me anymore. Donât ask fer my name either. Even if ya ask me, yer Grandpa Hu wonât tell ya, âcause Iâm angry!"
"Alright, then how should I address you?" Su Ming asked with a nod.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Hmph. Everyone calls me Grandpa Hu, but since weâre fellow disciples in the same sect, then Iâll allow ya to call me Grandpa Hu Zi," the man quickly answered, having long forgotten the words he had said just now. There was a prideful look on his face, as if he was very satisfied with his name.
Su Mingâs expression remained passive as he nodded and asked, "Mhmm. Hu Zi, when is Master Tian Xie Zi coming back?"
"Ya didnât see him? The old man just came back. Hmph, I was drinking wine when he threw me out to come and pick you up." When the man spoke of this, anger appeared on his face.
"Oh? I really didnât see him." A barely noticeable glint appeared in Su Mingâs eyes.
"The old man is a sage. A sage, understand? A sage has to act like a sage. Heâs the best at sounding mysterious and giving us all that mumbo-jumbo."
The man seemed to have recalled something and he took a big gulp of wine from his wine pot with a downspirited look on his face.
Su Ming clenched his right fist and a freezing glare appeared in his eyes, but his face remained passive as he nodded.
"He once told me that he only had me as his discipleâ¦"
Before Su Ming even finished speaking, that man immediately turned livid with rage and turned around to yell at Su Ming.
"He told me the same thing! But only when I came back with him did I realize that I had a senior brother above me, and my senior brother had another senior brother above himâ¦"
A smile appeared on Su Mingâs face, but that smile was a little forced, and there was even a hint of coldness in his smile.
"He even told meâ¦"
This time, even before Su Ming finished speaking, the man immediately cut in.
"I know! He mustâave told ya that he has a lot of Berserker Vessels and ya can choose them at will."
Su Ming clenched his right fist tighter.
"He might have even told ya that he has all the Berserker Arts of Freezing Sky Clan and if you acknowledge him as your Master, you can learn them."
Su Mingâs smile turned even colder.
"He must also have told ya that if you acknowledge him as yer Master, then youâll understand in the future that Freezing Sky Clan is nothing. Well, d*mn him. That old man told me the exact same thing in the past. My junior brother, youâre unlucky, youâre super unlucky, youâre super duper unluckyâ¦
"Iâm telling ya, weâre not the only ones with the same experience. My senior brother told me the same thing. His experiences were the same as ours. Our senior brotherâs senior brother apparently said the same thing to himâ¦"
As the man babbled on in a sympathizing manner, both of them gradually weaved through several main mountains and arrived at Freezing Sky Clanâs ninth summit.
The nine main mountains and the numerous subordinate mountains formed the vast snow plains belonging to Freezing Sky Clan. Together with Heaven Gate, both mountains and gate created Freezing Sky Clanâs powerful presence.
The nine main mountains were an important part of Freezing Sky Clan. Each mountain was humongous. At first glance, they looked like towering ice mountains that exuded an aged presence.
At that moment, the ninth summit was presented before Su Mingâs eyes.
"Weâre here."
The man pointed at the ninth summit by Su Mingâs side and let out a sigh.
Su Ming was stunned. On the way here, he had lost all hope and was disappointed by Tian Xie Ziâs words. Yet when he saw the ninth summit, he could not help but be surprised.
He hesitated for a moment before looking at the man. "How⦠many people are staying here?"
"Not many. Including you and the old man, thereâre only five people here. This is the only thing the old man didnât lie about. He does indeed stay in Freezing Sky Clan and does indeed own a mountain, which is the ninth summit."
Su Ming took a deep breath. At the very least, he now felt a little bit comforted after the hurt he felt for having been lied to.
"Our eldest senior brother is in constant isolation. He will only come out on the Day of Eternal Creation, and every single time he comes back, heâll make a huge ruckus. Even if yer dead drunk, youâll still wake up because of him. Youâll have to listen to him shouting that heâs finally out, and itâs a real headache.
"You can treat him like a turtle. He usually sleeps, and when he wakes up heâll let out a loud yawn, then heâll go back to sleep," the man mumbled under his breath.
As Su Ming listened to him, he found himself rendered speechless.