"Uncle Master… Hu…"
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, lass…" 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 Zi’s expression darkened and she cast the man a cold glare, but she did not speak.
"Aaahhh… just which one of you’s Su Ming? Don’t 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. I’m lookin’ fer Su Ming, not Su. Yer name’s Su, you aren’t the person I’m lookin’ fer."
Once he spoke, the people on the platforms immediately bit back their laughter. If it were not because they were afraid of the man’s 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. Didn’t cha just call yerself Su? How’s it when ya heard I was lookin’ fer Su Ming, then ya immediately say yer name’s Su Ming? Hey, I’m tellin’ ya, yer Grandpa Hu is real smart. Don’t even think about lyin’ to me! I hate people lyin’ 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 lyin’ 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 he’s not here, then he lied to me again." Anger appeared on the man’s face and once he was standing before Su Ming, he glared at him. "Tell me! Who’s 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 Bing’s strange look, he already had an answer in his heart.
When he heard the man calling out Tian Xie Zi’s family name, Su Ming brought out the pot of wine Tian Xie Zi gave him from his bosom without another word.
The man’s 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 didn’t cha say so earlier? I had ta waste my breath askin’ so many times. Let’s go. I’ll bring ya to the old man’s 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 Ming’s 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.
"I’ll take my leave first. If we ever have the chance, let’s meet up again."
"Brother Su… congratulations, congratulations…"
Chen Yu Bing greeted Su Ming back with an odd expression on his face.
"Once I’m settled, I’ll come find you," Han Fei Zi’s said, her tone still icy.
"I’m on the third summit. Brother Su, if you’re 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 aren’t 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 can’t 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, I’m not the one who’s unlucky, you’re the one who’s unlucky. You’re seriously unlucky. You’re very, very unlucky. You’re really, very, absolutely unlucky…"
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 Ming’s ears. That voice was enough to make his ears start buzzing now that he was listening in close proximity.
Su Ming’s expression turned cold and shouted out in an icy tone, "That’s 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 Ming’s words while shouting. Once he remembered that the man came to pick him up, and remembered that this man was highly likely Tian Xie Zi’s disciple as well judging by his words, Su Ming sighed.
‘Tian Xie Zi told me that I was his only disciple…’
The bad feeling in Su Ming’s 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.
"I’m warning ya. Don’t talk to me anymore. Don’t ask fer my name either. Even if ya ask me, yer Grandpa Hu won’t tell ya, ‘cause I’m angry!"
"Alright, then how should I address you?" Su Ming asked with a nod.
"Hmph. Everyone calls me Grandpa Hu, but since we’re fellow disciples in the same sect, then I’ll 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 Ming’s expression remained passive as he nodded and asked, "Mhmm. Hu Zi, when is Master Tian Xie Zi coming back?"
"Ya didn’t 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 didn’t see him." A barely noticeable glint appeared in Su Ming’s eyes.
"The old man is a sage. A sage, understand? A sage has to act like a sage. He’s 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 disciple…"
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 him…"
A smile appeared on Su Ming’s face, but that smile was a little forced, and there was even a hint of coldness in his smile.
"He even told me…"
This time, even before Su Ming finished speaking, the man immediately cut in.
"I know! He must’ave 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 Ming’s smile turned even colder.
"He must also have told ya that if you acknowledge him as yer Master, then you’ll 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, you’re unlucky, you’re super unlucky, you’re super duper unlucky…
"I’m telling ya, we’re 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 brother’s senior brother apparently said the same thing to him…"
As the man babbled on in a sympathizing manner, both of them gradually weaved through several main mountains and arrived at Freezing Sky Clan’s 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 Clan’s 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 Ming’s eyes.
"We’re here."
The man pointed at the ninth summit by Su Ming’s 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 Zi’s 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, there’re only five people here. This is the only thing the old man didn’t 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, he’ll make a huge ruckus. Even if yer dead drunk, you’ll still wake up because of him. You’ll have to listen to him shouting that he’s finally out, and it’s a real headache.
"You can treat him like a turtle. He usually sleeps, and when he wakes up he’ll let out a loud yawn, then he’ll go back to sleep," the man mumbled under his breath.
As Su Ming listened to him, he found himself rendered speechless.