After I Became a Divine Monarch, the Sect Wants Me to Marry In-Chapter 18 - You’re so old and you haven’t concealed your cultivation?

That very noon.

Gu An and the others received early news that people from the Sect were coming.

They were to go out to greet them.

Gu An took a brief look, the quantity of Vajra Wood was sufficient.

He just didn't know whether they would inspect the Spirit Tree Garden.

It was their duty.

But they usually inspected no more than twice in five years.

They inspected last year, so they probably wouldn't inspect this year.

However, even if an inspection did occur, it wouldn't be a problem.

Yang Shi was the previous leader and had died; they could easily pin it all on him.

Punishing the others would let the incident pass.

As long as that tree hadn't truly fallen, there would still be room for maneuver.

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This was why Gu An wouldn't cut down that tree unless absolutely necessary.

Moments later, Gu An and three others stood in front of the Spirit Tree Garden waiting for the representatives from the Sect to arrive.

Indeed, after a short while, Manager Chen arrived with three people.

Looking at the three newcomers, Gu An's heart sank, as he recognized none of them.

They weren't the regular personnel.

Among the three, the leader was a young man, followed by another male and a female, all looking to be in their early twenties.

But they each possessed the Cultivation of the Qi Refining Fifth Layer.

The leader's Cultivation seemed even more formidable than Manager Chen's.

Moreover, Manager Chen was quite respectful towards him.

For a moment, Gu An was worried whether the newcomer could see through his concealed Cultivation.

Yet his Qi concealment technique had been improved three times already, not at Perfection, then certainly at Great Success.

Unless the person before him was exceedingly powerful, there was a good chance he could be deceived.

"Greetings to Manager Chen and esteemed Senior(s)," the four of Gu An respectfully spoke.

"Calling us Senior(s) is a bit much; my surname is Duanmu, you can call me Senior Brother Duanmu.

After all, we are all part of the Sect," Duanmu Qing said with a smile.

Gu An and the others lowered their heads.

None dared to actually address the other party in such a manner.

Could they be considered part of the Sect?

Impossible, they were people who could be replaced at any time.

In the eyes of these individuals, they were not much different from logging laborers.

If they took the other's politeness seriously, then the others might not be polite any longer.

The speaker speaks nobly, the listener must understand the rules.

Otherwise, they might have to leave the Spirit Tree Garden the next day.

"Senior Brother Duanmu speaks the truth, but let's focus on the main issue," Manager Chen said with a smile.

"Indeed," Duanmu Qing nodded and turned to Gu An and his group, "Do you know why we have come this time?"

Gu An and the others did not respond and showed no desire to speak.

Even a slight misstep could lead to misfortune.

"You are still too cautious," Duanmu Qing said with an implied smile.

The hearts of Gu An and the rest jumped.

It seemed the other party was becoming displeased.

"It should be for the Vajra Wood," Gu An finally spoke.

"You're correct, Junior Brother," Duanmu Qing said, nodding with a smile, "Indeed, we have come for the Vajra Wood this time, but that's only one reason.

The second reason is that the Sect previously dispatched Junior Brother Shang here to assist Manager Chen with the Spirit Tree Garden management.

The Sect recently wanted to call him back for a report.

Unfortunately, he has disappeared.

Do you know anything about this?"

Duanmu Qing was smiling, but his gaze was somewhat icy.

Especially towards Gu An, who could feel that cold gaze upon him.

As if trying to see something.

Gu An and the others lowered their heads, not daring to meet his eyes.

"Junior Brother Shang is an obedient and well-behaved person. He said he wanted to mentor you properly in the Spirit Tree Garden management.

Unfortunately, it seems he stepped on someone's interests as soon as he arrived.

And never returned," Duanmu Qing looked at Gu An with a smile, "Isn't that right, Leader Gu?"

Hearing this, Gu An's heart lurched, and he responded with a panic-stricken expression, "Senior Duanmu sees clearly – I was very welcoming of Leader Shang's arrival and had no adverse feelings.

I truly wanted to learn from Senior Shang and had no other thoughts."

"Empty words prove nothing; our people will begin investigating you four. Do you have any objections?" Duanmu Qing asked.

"None at all," Gu An and the others responded, bowing respectfully.

At this point, Gu An felt a profound sense of danger.

Such a strong individual before him, he was not a match at all.

How should he now respond?

"That's good; all four of you will undergo our investigation," Duanmu Qing said with a smile before adding,

"So, let's go have a look at the Vajra Wood; the Sect requires a sufficient quantity.

With all the incidents occurring here recently, I'm curious if they affected the normal production."

"Definitely not," Manager Chen smiled and said,

"Gu An, lead the way."

"Yes," Gu An nodded in agreement.

And then he led the way.

They soon arrived at the first storage area.

After checking, the quantity of Vajra Wood was indeed sufficient.

"By the way, should we check that tree inside?" a woman suddenly spoke up.

Gu An's heart tensed.

But he didn't overthink.

It doesn't matter; Yang Shi is there to take the fall.

Unless these people intended to kill him.

In which case, whether he did it or not wouldn't matter.

Once they harbored such thoughts, reason won't prevail.

Of course, if they searched for the truth through reason, he would die either way.

"No need," Duanmu Qing smiled and shook his head, then turned to Gu An and the others, saying,

"Since there is no issue with Vajra Wood, let's now ask them if there's any news regarding Junior Brother Shang.

We can stay for a maximum of seven days, and within these seven days, we must have a result."

As he said this, Duanmu Qing looked at Manager Chen.

Upon seeing this, Manager Chen immediately nodded, "No problem, there will be an answer within at most seven days."

Gu An knew that he would be the 'answer' in seven days.

It might not even take seven days for the news of Leader Shang's death to spread, and he himself would become the murderer.

His body would be dug out from the back yard.

Though everything was correct, Manager Chen would arrange it again.

"Let's ask separately," Duanmu Qing looked at Gu An and said,

"You first, the other three step aside."

Qiu Hua and the others retreated.

Gu An stood in place, quietly waiting to be questioned.

"Who do you think is the most likely culprit?" Duanmu Qing opened with this question.

Gu An instinctively wanted to say he didn't know, but quickly corrected himself, "What culprit?"

Duanmu Qing smiled and said, "Nothing, I heard you used to be the leader."

"Yes," Gu An nodded.

"It seems you're very suspicious," Duanmu Qing remarked casually,

"Do you think it's possible that out of dissatisfaction of being usurped as the leader, you killed Junior Brother Shang?"

"How could that be?" Gu An immediately shook his head, "I am weak in Cultivation and never overly fixated on the leader role.

And I couldn't possibly be a match for Leader Shang."

"Not a match?" the woman by the side spoke up,

"How old are you?"

"Forty-five," Gu An replied.

"How long have you been in the leader position?" she asked again.

"Fourteen years," Gu An answered once more.

"Yes, that position must have allowed you to acquire quite a few Spirit Stones, right? Is it difficult to advance to the Qi Refining Fourth Layer?" The woman looked at Gu An articulating each word,

"Appearing to be at the Third Level of Qi Refining, could you not secretly be at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer or even the Fifth?

Perhaps you have the capacity for killing people."

For a moment, Gu An was speechless.

These people were unreasonable.

Yet their guesses were too accurate.