Shell Company

After an hour of cultivation, Su Jie slowly opened his eyes. His pupils gleamed brilliantly, a sign that his spiritual power had almost become tangible.

He lightly swung his arms, walked over to his BMW M8, squatted down, and exerted himself.

A scene that would leave the people of Blue Star stunned unfolded: Su Jie lifted the 1.9-ton car with both hands and raised it over his head.

"The quality of the spiritual power returned to me this time is very high."

Su Jie exhaled deeply, extremely satisfied with what he had gained from this advancement.

Apart from the changes to his body and spiritual power, Su Jie lowered his head and examined himself.

Then he held his right hand flat like a blade and viciously chopped it down on his left arm.

As his bones cracked, Su Jie curled the five fingers of his right hand like an eagle's talons and tore off his left arm at the shoulder.

There was none of the excruciating pain he had imagined. At the wound on Su Jie's severed left shoulder, granulation tissue began to multiply and surge outward in a frenzy.

In less than a minute, an entirely new arm had grown out.

The severed hand Su Jie had thrown onto the ground seemed to possess a will of its own. It actually struggled and twitched unconsciously, its flesh and skin writhing strangely. The arm moved as well, like a Poisonous Insect that refused to lie still even after death, its vitality astonishingly tenacious.

The Thousand-Hand Centipede's traits of division and super-regeneration were beginning to manifest in Su Jie.

The bodies that split away still concealed the influence of Su Jie's will, allowing them to move like living creatures.

Of course, if left alone, the severed arm would completely die before long. Creating life was beyond what someone at his level could accomplish.

Su Jie bent down and picked up the severed arm from the ground, pressing it against his left arm. Granulation tissue immediately grew from the severed limb, and it began fusing and sticking to the newly grown left arm. Soon, it had completely merged into it without leaving the slightest trace.

"Now, even if my heart were pierced, I could probably survive. Heh, a mere fatal wound."

Su Jie thought to himself that if his cultivation could continue advancing, he might even be able to revive from a drop of blood in the future.

After finishing his cultivation, Su Jie sent the Thousand-Hand Centipede to the breeding grounds to feast. He then cleaned up the traces, left the farm, and drove back to the villa at Jingjiang No. 1.

"Su Jie, you're back."

As soon as he returned to the villa, Liu Yingying, dressed in a tight-fitting skirted uniform, lit up with delight and hurried over.

"How did things go while I was away these past few days?"

Su Jie sat on the sofa with his legs crossed, sipping the fragrant tea the nanny had brought over.

Liu Yingying stepped forward on her own initiative and gently massaged Su Jie's shoulders with her slender jade hands. With a hint of smugness, she said, "I just got back from Hong Kong yesterday. I sorted out the several companies you already had, and I also registered three new shell companies. Their actual controllers were transferred to the Cayman Islands. I also opened channels through Shan Country in Southeast Asia and successfully registered several raw-material-source companies with cross-shareholdings, making our business much more legitimate."

"You're quite capable. Looks like I made the right choice in picking you as my secretary."

"At least I studied finance. These operations aren't anything special."

"Did you run into any difficulties?"

"No. With money paving the way, everything went smoothly. Especially in Shan Country—the local customs, forestry, and other departments, from top to bottom, are openly accepting bribes. Whatever documents or procedures you need, as long as the price is right, they can get it done for you."

Liu Yingying returned to the room and brought out a stack of documents, placing them in front of Su Jie.

Su Jie picked them up and looked through them. There was Fuyu Trading Co., Ltd., Jinde Di Log Import Company, Jiexin Home Furnishings, and several others, followed by a collection of documents.

There were Shan Country timber-felling permits, fumigation certificates, phytosanitary certificates, endangered-species certificates, packing lists, and a series of other documents related to importing and exporting logs.

Once these "legal" Shan Country documents were used for customs declarations, the logs could pass through legitimate and proper procedures. The shell companies could operate smoothly, transporting and importing the timber from Shan Country into Hua Country before finally delivering it into the hands of Tianyuan Home Furnishings.

The main reason Su Jie was doing this was that he had wreaked havoc on the mountains near Ghost Ridge Palace in Tianyuan World. He had cut down too much of the remaining red sandalwood, making it increasingly difficult to find.

With no other choice, Su Jie planned to fell other precious trees, such as Golden Silk Nanmu, Huanghuali, and Golden Camphor.

But his previous small-scale operations could no longer be conducted under the name of an ancestral inheritance.

Those trees had to go through legitimate procedures to circulate domestically. Moreover, he had now established Tianyuan Home Furnishings.

A company could not sell furniture made from only one kind of wood. It had to offer a rich variety of products. Thus, this process of deceiving heaven and crossing the sea had been born, allowing the precious trees of the Tianyuan Household to be laundered and brought into the open.

For this reason, Su Jie planned to visit Shan Country when he had the time. Apart from preparing timber materials, he also had an even crazier idea that he intended to verify in Shan Country.

While Su Jie was looking through the documents, Liang Lianjun hurried into the villa after receiving the news.

"President Su, I'm late."

"Have a seat."

Su Jie raised a hand to signal for Liang Lianjun to sit, then asked, "Did you manage to buy the processing plant?"

"I bought it already, but..."

Liang Lianjun hesitated, looking somewhat embarrassed. "Isn't this because Cold Lily ran into that situation? Director Cui's several children are fighting fiercely over the inheritance, selling off and tearing apart Cold Lily's assets everywhere. I acquired one of the timber-processing plants that used to belong to Cold Lily, along with some talented people from the design department, and used them to establish the framework of Tianyuan Home Furnishings."

Su Jie laughed heartily. "What's wrong with that? If you don't poach from your old employer, someone else will. I don't mind this sort of thing. Being able to get the processing plant into our hands as quickly as possible is a testament to your ability."

It had to be said: Liang Lianjun was truly talented.

"Tianyuan Home Furnishings can operate normally now, right?"

"Yes, President Su. The processing plant has all its equipment and workers in place. As soon as the logs arrive, we can begin making furniture."

"The logs aren't a problem. Look, I've even prepared all the packing-list documents for you. Send a purchase order from Tianyuan Home Furnishings to this Jinde Di Company, and the logs can be shipped out from Shan Country."

With a smile, Su Jie handed over the stack of documents. When Liang Lianjun saw the various import and export documents for the logs, a smile immediately appeared on his face.

After taking a sip of tea, Su Jie said, "I'll prepare the logs for you. I won't interfere with the actual sales. That will depend on your abilities."

"Rest assured, President Su. There's no shortage of buyers for these high-end, precious-furniture pieces. We only lack sufficient supplies. Our competitiveness in the market is far too strong for sales to pose any difficulty."

Liang Lianjun slapped his chest confidently. Even if Tianyuan Home Furnishings was only a new brand, it could still rise to prominence by relying on all kinds of high-end timber.

"That's for the best."

Liang Lianjun chatted for a while longer. When he noticed that Liu Yingying's gaze kept drifting over from time to time, he understood and tactfully took his leave.

"Su Jie, you're not going out tonight, are you?"

As soon as Liang Lianjun left, Liu Yingying sat beside Su Jie and tugged at his arm. Her breath was fragrant, and her eyes were so alluring they seemed to hook the soul.

"I still have something to deal with over there, but..."

Liu Yingying had just shown a disappointed expression when Su Jie changed his tone. "I still have time. Seeing as you've worked so hard, running around domestically and abroad lately, I, your boss, will reward you properly and loosen up those muscles and bones for you."

As soon as his words fell, Liu Yingying let out a cry of surprise. Su Jie swept her up around the waist and carried her toward the bedroom.

After a bout of passion!

Exhausted, Liu Yingying lay beneath the covers and looked at Su Jie, who had dressed himself neatly again. There was considerable reluctance in her voice.

"Can't you stay a few more days? I don't want you to leave."

Her voice was soft and tender, like a coquettish kitten. If Liu Yingying had initially gotten together with Su Jie for money, then after spending these days with him—especially after he had arranged work that allowed her financial talents to shine—she had been so spiritually fulfilled that she could not have been happier. She had grown increasingly dependent on and infatuated with Su Jie as well.

"You greedy little kitten. I'm going to Shan Country in a few days. You can come with me then. Are you still afraid we won't have time together?"

Su Jie flicked Liu Yingying on the forehead. As she cried out in pain, he left the bedroom, found an empty place, opened the ancient mirror, and returned to Tianyuan World.

Tianyuan World, Niujiao Ridge.

As soon as Su Jie returned, he heard some good news.

Inside the wooden house, Gu Weinan held a letter in his hand, his face full of excitement. "Brother Su, a letter came from the Command Hall. It says we're allowed to return to the sect for recuperation. Other disciples will come to guard Niujiao Ridge. We can go back."

"We waited four or five days just for a reply. That's slow enough."

Su Jie grumbled, but the news still brought joy. Being able to escape the threat of the Strange Ghosts was a good thing no matter how he looked at it.

"The Command Hall has always been like this. It's not as if this is the first time."

Chen Yun touched the ugly wound on her face, which had already healed considerably. Like most outer disciples, she held little goodwill toward the Command Hall.

"At least the letter finally came. If they didn't let me go back soon, I'm afraid this leg would end up crippled."

Gu Weinan was the most impatient of them all. His right leg had been corroded when the Fire Poison Cockroach self-destructed last time, and it still had not healed. Most of the muscle in his lower right leg had been eaten away, exposing pale-white bone.

"Buy a bottle of low-grade Muscle-Rebirth Pill at the Black Market when you go back. That should be enough to heal you. Don't worry."

Su Jie offered a word of comfort, then dragged two Strange Ghost corpses out of the house and piled them onto a flatbed cart. He covered them layer by layer with heavy tarpaulin.

These were the most precious spoils of war, and Su Jie had to escort them personally.

Gu Weinan and Chen Yun shouldered their packs. One limped badly, while the other moved slowly because of her serious injuries. Together with Su Jie pushing the flatbed cart, the three of them walked out of Niujiao Ridge beneath the blazing sun, heading back toward the gates of Ghost Ridge Palace.

They had initially thought the journey would go smoothly, and all three were eager to return to the mountain gate as quickly as possible.

But things often went contrary to one's wishes. As Su Jie and the others traveled along a mountain path, they suddenly heard cries of agony and pleas for help.

The screams echoed without end among the lofty mountains and ridges. Su Jie exchanged a glance with Gu Weinan and Chen Yun, and none of them acted rashly.

"You two wait here. I'll go take a look."

Su Jie had the infirm Gu Weinan and Chen Yun remain where they were while he entered the dense forest and sent the Scouting Dragonfly ahead to investigate.

Soon, with the aid of the Scouting Dragonfly's vision, Su Jie discovered the cause of the screams.

A small caravan of several dozen people lay strewn about the ground. A horse-drawn cart used specifically for hauling heavy goods had overturned, and severed human limbs were scattered everywhere.

A three-meter-long Strange Ghost was chewing on a human thigh. Its scarlet, savage eyes turned to the side, where the few remaining survivors were fleeing frantically.