167 Chapter 167 (1/2)

A man with a slight hump on his back and quite the lengthy protruding upper teeth was looking at some papers. He was sitting in a large leather chair, the desk he had the papers on looked to be quite robust and made from some rare spiritual wood.

”The production has increased by 1% for this month...”

The man murmured to himself in a silent voice, the parchment he was holding had various numbers written on them. This was the monthly report from this spirit stone mine. Everything that was excavated was listed in here, how many tons of spirit stone ore there was as well as its quality.

The man took out a pen from the side and started scribbling something down on the same report. Some of the numbers slowly shifted to something else. He placed the pen that was made from a large green feather to the side and then he glanced at the parchment again.

”The production has decreased by 2% this month, think we'll have to make an example of some of the workers and cut their pay again, hehe~.”

The man's eyes turned into crescent shapes, his thin, crack lips quickly turning into a devilish grin. The man didn't have much time to enjoy his scheming as he heard a knock on the door. He flared his nostrils at the sound and placed the paper down on his desk before replying.

”What is is? This better be important!”

At the call another person entered the room, he looked like your average cultivator. He gave the usual courteous bow before the man and then started talking.

”Reporting to the Grand elder!”

With annoyance the man waved his hand, letting the other person know that he was allowed to speak.

”An honorable guest has arrived today, he wants to meet you, Grand Elder Zhu”

The man raised his eyebrow wondering who this honorable person was.

”Well? Does this honorable guest have a name or title?”

The man already had beads of sweat forming on his forehead by just being here. The nascent soul grand elder was giving him the death glare, but he had to perform his job and bring the information over as the other person was even more frightening.

”Yes! It's Grand Elder Wu Ming from the main sect!”

The elder named Zhu showed a lopsided grimace after hearing the name of the person that had arrived.

”Elder Wu Ming?... did he say what he wants from me?”

Zhu moved one of his fingers to his mouth and started chewing on it, his eyes glancing to the paper that he just forged to show that the mine was doing worse than it actually did.

'Are they on to me? Did someone rat me out? Is it a coincidence... I was sure to not leave any evidence behind...'

The man started hastily contemplating, the voice of the other person in the room finally snapping him back to reality.

”Yes, Grand Elder Ming gave instructions. He wants to have a meeting with Grand Elder Zhu, he requested it be a secluded room. He mentioned that he doesn't want to be disturbed and that everyone should leave the premise for your discussion.”

The man gave a rapid-fire recount of the order he got, the thing he wanted to do the most was to leave. The moment he mentioned Elder Ming's name the other grand elder started leaking his nascent soul aura. This spiritual pressure that he was exuding now was making this cultivator's body shiver.

”Grand Elder Ming said that he is in a hurry and would like to have a talk as soon as possible. That was all, Grand Elder Zhu!”

The man with the overbite looked down onto the desk while thinking.

'Why does he want to meet me in a separate room... maybe he wants in on the deal too?'

The man strained his brain trying to figure out Wu Ming's purpose here. Why was he making an unannounced visit to this cold and gloomy place? At first, Zhu though that he was ordered to check up on him by the other elders. But this was Grand Elder Ming, he was one of the stronger members of the sect. If there was a problem they would probably send an elder that was in the early stage, just like him.

'No, Ming only cares about face and treasures. He probably wants to extort me for some spirit stones. He probably needs more to satiate that treasure addiction he has!'

Wu Ming's love for treasures was widely known throughout the sect. The man spent most of his time going from city to city to visit auction houses. Some people even speculated that he was so easy to punish people for showing disrespect only to rob them and get his hands on their treasures and spirit stones.

'Shit, does he have some proof? No... he doesn't need it. If I deny him he can order an investigation!'

Zhu knew that if an official investigation took place, they would find inconsistencies in the numbers. He was fabricating the reports here and there to siphon spirit stones for himself, even if the amount was trivial he was still stealing.

The old man stood up and slammed both his palms down on his expensive-looking desk, the item almost breaking from the strike. This startled the messenger here, that was still standing there waiting for a reply or for a sign that he could leave.

”You... go tell Elder Wu Ming that I will meet him shortly, also guide him to my personal cultivation room!”

The man bowed and quickly shuffled out of the room, finally free from the oppressive aura. Elder Zhu on the other hand had his jaw clenched and was gritting his teeth.