The strongest intermediary in all realms

By the time I got back to that dilapidated office, it was completely dark.

Zhou Ming touched the switch on the wall, and the chandelier flickered twice before turning on, its dim yellow light barely rescuing the room from darkness.

He didn't have time to complain about the environment. He plopped back down behind the peeling desk and pulled Xiaoqi off his shoulder and placed her on the desk.

"Here, the intelligence." Zhou Ming crossed his arms, adopting a business meeting posture. "What exactly is the background of the Condor Heroes world? Timeline, power distribution, location of the Valley of Heartbreak, and its defenses—give me everything."

Xiaoqi sat cross-legged on the table, her little suit skirt spread out, looking just like a miniature God of Wealth.

With a wave of her hand, the light screen unfolded into a semi-transparent holographic projection, on which lines of text and images appeared.

"According to the system's benchmark analysis, the world of *The Return of the Condor Heroes* belongs to a branch of the 'Jin-style martial arts universe' timeline, roughly some point after *The Legend of the Condor Heroes* and before *The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber*. The main factions include: the Beggars' Sect, the Quanzhen Sect, the Ancient Tomb Sect, Peach Blossom Island, and your current target—the Valley of Heartbreak."

Xiaoqi opened a hand-drawn map of the valley entrance, marking the entry and exit routes and sentry posts.

"The Valley of Heartbreak is located deep within the Zhongnan Mountains. Its master, Gongsun Zhi, possesses extremely high martial arts skills and a sinister personality, dominating the region. The valley is filled with Love Flowers, said to be poisonous; those afflicted by the Love Flower will experience excruciating pain upon experiencing passion and die within seven days. However, the flower's stamens do indeed possess unique medicinal properties, showing remarkable efficacy against certain intractable diseases."

Zhou Ming frowned: "Then I'll have to deal with Gongsun Zhi? What if he refuses to sell?"

"So you need to bring something to exchange." Xiao Qi flipped to another page, listing a series of items. "System analysis shows that martial arts characters generally have a strong interest in items from Blue Star. What do you have?"

Zhou Ming searched through the original owner's office and pockets, eventually finding: half a pack of cigarettes, a lighter, two bottles of mineral water, a box of expired chocolates, and several high-resolution landscape photos stored on the original owner's phone. Oh, and there was also a crumpled fifty-yuan note in his pocket.

It was so shabby it was outrageous.

"That's it?" Xiao Qi looked like she'd swallowed a fly. "You're planning to trade expired chocolate for someone else's elixir? Gongsun Zhi would be lucky if he didn't throw you into a love flower garden."

Zhou Ming picked up the lighter, turned it over and over, and then laughed.

"No need for much. You've never seen this kind of thing in the martial arts world, have you? It's windproof, inflatable, and fires with a single press. For an old fogey like Gongsun Zhi who's spent his whole life holed up in the mountains, this thing is an 'extraterrestrial wonder.' Its scarcity determines its premium."

He grabbed the mineral water bottle and shook it: "The three characters 'Pure Water' printed on this lousy bottle—people have never seen this font or printing technique before. Add to that the real landscape photos on my phone—skyscrapers, airplanes, neon lights on Earth—a few pictures are enough to leave him completely bewildered."

"You're... making a business out of information asymmetry?" Xiao Qi tilted her head.

"Otherwise what?" Zhou Ming stuffed the items into a cloth bag. "What's the core competitiveness of a time-travel intermediary? It's channels and information. I don't need to be better than Gongsun Zhi; I just need to make him believe that I have valuable things he's never seen before."

He stood up and patted the cloth bag: "Ready to set off. How do we open the passage?"

Xiao Qi leaped from the desk, hovering in mid-air, her hands forming a complex hand seal. Blue ripples emanated from her fingertips, spreading like water. The air in the center of the office began to distort, like the heatwave on scorching asphalt, before a crack about two people wide slowly tore open, revealing a flowing stream of silvery-gray light.

"The dimensional coordinates have been locked. The Outer Edge of Zhongnan Mountain in the Condor Heroes World—a deserted, desolate slope about three kilometers from the Valley of Heartbreak." Xiao Qi's face was slightly pale. "Opening the passage for the first time consumed a lot of my energy. Once you get there, get on with your work quickly and don't dawdle; I can't hold out here for long."

Zhou Ming walked to the crack, the silvery-gray light casting flickering shadows on his face. He took a deep breath.

Is there any risk?

"Yes." Xiao Qi was unusually serious. "While the system guarantees you can travel back and forth reliably, it doesn't guarantee you won't get beaten up over there. If Gongsun Zhi kills you, the system can save your life, but the pain will be real."

"...Thanks."

Zhou Ming stepped into the silver-gray light stream.

The next second, a feeling of weightlessness enveloped him, and he heard the whistling wind and the crisp sound of thousands of glass beads shattering simultaneously. His body seemed to be stretched and compressed, and the scene before his eyes twisted into countless colorful lines.

When he regained his footing, he was standing on soft humus.

The evening breeze, carrying the scents of pine and earth, filled my nostrils. Above me, the canopy of ancient trees blocked out the sky, and dappled moonlight filtered through, casting shadows on the ground. In the distance, the faint sound of a stream and the long, mournful cry of some night bird could be heard. The air was crisp and cool, infinitely more comfortable than his gloomy city.

Zhou Ming looked down at himself—his clothes were unchanged, and the cloth bag was still there. He turned on his phone; the screen lit up, but there was no signal. As expected.

"Xiao Qi? Can you hear me?"

Xiao Qi's voice echoed in his mind, but it was filled with static, like a radio with a bad signal: "I...can...hear...but...the channel's energy is...decreasing...hurry."

"knew."

Zhou Ming checked his bearings and headed towards the direction Xiao Qi had marked: the Valley of Heartbreak. There were almost no paths in the forest, but he progressed surprisingly smoothly, stepping on fallen leaves and moss. After about half an hour, the trees suddenly thinned out, revealing the entrance to a valley surrounded by cliffs. At the entrance stood a huge blue stone tablet, engraved with three bold, powerful characters: Valley of Heartbreak.

Two disciples in gray robes stood on either side of the stone steps, swords at their waists, their eyes wary. Seeing Zhou Ming emerge from the woods, they simultaneously blocked his path.

"Who goes there? This is a forbidden area in the valley; outsiders are not allowed to enter!"

Zhou Ming raised his hands, revealing a standard, harmless smile: "You two have worked hard. I am a merchant from outside the mountains, and I wish to meet with the Valley Master. I have a business deal I'd like to discuss with you."

The disciple on the left frowned and sized him up. Zhou Ming's attire was indeed strange in this world—a crew-neck T-shirt, jeans, sneakers, and a neatly cut haircut. But it wasn't the attire of a martial arts figure, nor did it seem like he was there to cause trouble.

"What kind of business?" the disciple on the right asked.

"An exchange." Zhou Ming pulled a lighter from his bag, flicking it out with a snap, producing a flickering blue flame that stood out starkly in the dark forest. The two disciples simultaneously took a half-step back, their hands on their sword hilts.

"Don't be nervous." Zhou Ming extinguished the lighter and put it back in his pocket. "This is just a 'rare item,' and I'd like to trade it with the Valley Master for something. Please inform him that I won't enter the valley; I'll wait at the entrance. If the Valley Master is interested, he will naturally come to see me."

He paused, then added, "There's only one of this in the entire martial world. If the Valley Master doesn't like it, I'll go elsewhere."

The two disciples exchanged a glance. The one on the right whispered, "You wait here," and then turned and strode into the valley.

Zhou Ming leaned against the blue stone tablet and waited, his hands in his pockets, looking up at the moon overhead. The moon in this world was bigger and brighter than the one on Earth, with a faint silver halo around its edges, like an ancient coin hanging in the night sky.

After waiting for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, footsteps echoed in the valley. The disciple had returned, followed by a middle-aged man dressed in blue. The man had a handsome face, a long beard, and a steady gait. His gaze swept over Zhou Ming like that of a hawk.

Gongsun Zhi.

Zhou Ming's intuition told him that this person possessed a repressed, cold, and sharp quality, like a poisoned blade hidden in its sheath.

"I heard you have a rare item?" Gongsun Zhi spoke, his voice neither loud nor soft. "Take it out and let me see."

Zhou Ming took out a lighter from his pocket and walked over to hand it to Gongsun Zhi. Gongsun Zhi took it and examined it from all angles—plastic casing, metal flint wheel, gas filler. He didn't press the button immediately, but instead glanced at Zhou Ming first.

"The disciple just said it can produce fire."

"You'll see once you try it."

Gongsun Zhi flicked the lighter with his thumb, and with a snap, a flame shot up. His eyelids twitched slightly as he stared at the cluster of blue flame for several moments before releasing it, and the flame went out. He tried again, and it went out again. After repeating this three times, he calmly gripped the lighter in his palm.

"What's the price?"

"I don't want gold or silver," Zhou Ming said. "I just want the stamens of three dried love flowers from the valley."

Gongsun Zhi's eyes narrowed slightly. He remained silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled, though the smile didn't reach his eyes: "The Love Flower is highly poisonous. What brings you here?"

"To save a life," Zhou Ming said frankly. "I have a guest who has contracted a strange illness. She has sought treatment from numerous renowned doctors without success, and finally learned that the stamens of the Love Flower can be used as medicine. I'm making this trip for her. If the Valley Master is willing to part with it, this 'Heavenly Fire Stone' is yours. In the future, if there are any other rare items, I am also willing to give the Valley Master priority in trading."

Gongsun Zhi examined the lighter in his palm, then looked at Zhou Ming. Under the moonlight, his expression was uncertain.

Zhou Ming was actually sweating bullets. In the world of martial arts, it's common for powerful figures to draw their swords and kill to steal at the slightest provocation. He deliberately emphasized "other rare items in the future" to show Gongsun Zhi the long-term value—if you kill the seller, who will supply you in the future?

Sure enough, Gongsun Zhi pondered for a moment, then beckoned to his disciple and gave him a few instructions. The disciple ran into the valley and soon returned carrying a small celadon bottle.

Gongsun Zhi took the porcelain bottle, uncorked it, smelled it, and handed it to Zhou Ming: "Three dried flower stamens, dried for a full month, their medicinal properties are well preserved."

Zhou Ming took the porcelain bottle, and a weight was lifted from his heart.

"Thank you, Valley Master," he said, bowing slightly. "If I encounter any new or unusual items in the future, I will come to trouble you again."

Gongsun Zhi nodded slightly, clutching the lighter as he turned and entered the valley. Before his figure disappeared into the night, he suddenly paused, turned his head, and said, "The aura on you... doesn't seem to belong to someone from the Central Plains, nor to someone from the Western Regions. Interesting."

After saying that, he strode away.

Zhou Ming stood there, his back covered in cold sweat. He waited until Gongsun Zhi had completely disappeared before carefully stuffing the porcelain bottle into the deepest part of his cloth bag, then turned and ran. He sprinted back to the barren slope. The silver-gray crack was still there, but it was almost half as narrow as when he came, and the edges shimmered slightly, clearly indicating that it wouldn't last much longer.

He dashed in.

After another dizzying spin and a kaleidoscopic visual shock, Zhou Ming stumbled and fell awkwardly onto the tiled floor of his office, his knees aching from the impact. The crack behind him silently closed, as if it had never existed.

"Huff...huff..."

He lay on his back on the ground, looking up at the spiderwebs on the ceiling, his heart pounding in his chest. He still clutched the cloth bag tightly in his hand. He took out the celadon bottle, uncorked it, and brought it to his nose to smell it; a faint, bitter fragrance.

"It's done."

Xiao Qi floated down from mid-air, her face even paler than before, but a smile played on her lips: "Mission accomplished. As for the client—I notified him via system SMS; he's coming to pick up the goods tomorrow. Commission settlement: The cost of the Love Flower purchase was almost zero; how much are you charging him?"

Zhou Ming thought for a moment: "Confiscate it."

"Huh?" Xiao Qi's eyes widened.

"The first order is free." Zhou Ming got up from the ground, dusted himself off, and said, "Consider it a grand opening promotion. Besides, you saw that guy's situation—a father who went bankrupt bribing a boundary talisman for his daughter. You're asking him for an exorbitant price? In real estate, reputation is everything. He'll remember this favor for life, and anyone he knows who needs help will come to me."

Xiaoqi pouted: "But the system performance..."

"What's the rush?" Zhou Ming placed the celadon bottle on his desk, walked to the window, and opened it. A cool night breeze blew in, and he let out a long sigh. "This is only the first day. Tomorrow, the client will take the medicine to save her daughter, and once the word spreads, people will naturally come knocking."

He turned back and smiled at Xiaoqi: "By the way, help me come up with a catchy phrase for the flyers. It should read: 'Odd Jobs Shop Real Estate Agent—A cross-industry agent, providing services across the heavens, satisfaction guaranteed. 10% discount for cardholders.'"

Xiaoqi rolled her eyes: "You're really planning to hand out flyers?"

"Otherwise what?" Zhou Ming chuckled, leaning against the window frame. "Do you think I can just post a thread and pin it to the top of the 'Transmigrator Forum'?"

Moonlight streamed in from behind him, casting a long shadow on the floor.

The celadon vase on the desk was quietly waiting for its owner tomorrow. Outside the window, the neon lights of the city twinkled, and the streaks of hover motorcycles shuttled between the high-rise buildings. Occasionally, a sword cultivator would fly across the sky on his sword, the sword light like a shooting star.

This world is magical. Zhou Ming thought.

But it doesn't seem like a big deal.

He yawned, nestled into his chair, and closed his eyes.

Tomorrow, I need to find Xiaoyue's father to deliver the love flower to him.

Then let's see where the second customer is.