The strongest intermediary in all realms

"The disguise talisman has finally been taken down."

Zhou Ming stared at the glittering "Purchase Successful" message on the system panel, feeling a sense of relief, as if he had finally made a down payment after saving up for half a year's salary.

The balance of universal points in the corner of the panel has reached zero, but a light blue talisman has been stored in the system space and can be accessed at any time.

Xiao Qi hovered beside his shoulder, flashing a victory V-sign: "From now on, when you enter a Xianxia world, it will automatically simulate the spiritual energy fluctuations of a Qi Refining Stage 7. As long as you don't run into any old monsters above the Golden Core stage, basically no one will suspect anything."

"What level is the seventh level of Qi Refining?"

"The entry-level stage in a Xianxia world. You can't beat a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but you're much stronger than a mortal. At least you can maintain a respectable appearance."

Zhou Ming nodded. It was enough to save face. He wasn't going to fight. He turned around and looked around his office. After the commotion these past few days, the once dilapidated place seemed to have a bit of "human presence".

On the desk were a few trinkets salvaged from the rift: a warm, smooth jade pendant, a yellowed talisman, and three sparkling, low-grade spirit stones. The windows were clean, the floor swept, and the cardboard box containing daily necessities in the corner had been moved and neatly stacked.

Small but complete.

The next task is clear: with the disguise talisman, formally enter the Azure Sky Realm, find out the situation around the Divine Sky Ruins, and lay the groundwork for a subsequent in-depth investigation of the Purgers.

However, the whereabouts of Lin Xiaowan's parents, the contents of the deep seal on the Green Wave Sword, and the extent of the Purifiers' infiltration on Blue Star all point in the same direction—the Azure Sky Realm.

Just as Zhou Ming put on his gear bag, his phone rang.

He answered Chen Jianguo's number, but it wasn't Old Chen's voice that came through the receiver. Instead, it was a middle-aged woman's voice, carrying a certain nervousness tinged with feigned composure: "Hello? Is this Mr. Zhou Ming? I'm Sister Wang, Old Chen's neighbor. I apologize for bothering you... Did you help Old Chen get that batch of medicine?"

Zhou Ming was taken aback: "Yes, what's wrong?"

"Could you come to the Chengnan Electromechanical Market? Xiaoyue's condition suddenly worsened today, and Lao Chen is frantic. He just called 120 and took her to the district hospital. When I was helping him pack, I found your business card under his pillow—he told me to contact you no matter what."

Zhou Ming's heart tightened: "I'll be there right away."

He hung up the phone and rushed out of the office. Getting from Yuecheng District to the south of the city required crossing half the district. Without a car, he sprinted to the street corner and flagged down a hoverbike. The driver, a young man in a leather jacket, slammed on the accelerator, and the hoverbike lifted half a foot off the ground, weaving rapidly through traffic. The wind whistled through his ears, and Zhou Ming gripped his phone, his fingertips growing cold.

Ten minutes later, he jumped down at the entrance of the district hospital and rushed into the emergency room. The smell of disinfectant hit him, and people were coming and going in the corridor. He found the nurses' station, asked for the bed number, and saw Chen Jianguo in the pediatric ward.

Old Chen sat on a bench in the corridor, his hands resting on his knees, his head bowed. His shoulders trembled slightly, like a clay sculpture soaked through by the rain.

"Old Chen." Zhou Ming strode over. "What's going on?"

Chen Jianguo looked up, his eyes red-rimmed. He rubbed his face vigorously, his voice hoarse like sandpaper: "The doctor said the medicine caused a slight rejection reaction with her constitution. It's not serious, but... but they haven't dealt with that 'love flower' before. The dosage was based on ancient texts, and there might be an overdose of one of the auxiliary ingredients. Now Xiaoyue has a fever and a rash all over her body."

He could barely continue speaking towards the end, his lips trembling.

Zhou Ming crouched down to look him in the eye: "Is it serious? Could it be life-threatening?"

"The doctor said that if it's treated promptly, there won't be any problems, but the prescription needs to be readjusted." Chen Jianguo pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and handed it over. "This is the doctor's revised prescription, but it contains one ingredient, 'snow lotus root'... That stuff is too expensive, several thousand yuan per gram, and it's very difficult to find genuine ones on the market. I... I really don't have the money right now..."

Zhou Ming took the paper and glanced at it. Snow lotus root did indeed grow on Blue Star, but wild varieties were expensive, and cultivated ones had significantly reduced medicinal efficacy. Chen Jianguo's current financial situation meant he couldn't afford snow lotus root; paying for this emergency room visit would have emptied his pockets.

He was silent for two seconds, then stood up and patted Old Chen on the shoulder.

"Wait."

Zhou Ming turned and walked out of the hospital gate. He stopped by the flower bed near the entrance, and when no one was watching, he called out softly, "Xiao Qi."

"Yes." Xiao Qi's voice came from the system.

"Check if any planes are rich in snow lotus roots. Requirements: easy to obtain, low price, and I can travel there and back safely."

A line of search results pops up on the system panel.

Search complete

[Matching Dimension: Frost Realm (Low-level Martial Arts, Extremely Cold Dimension)]

[Specialty Product: Cold Region Snow Lotus (medicinal properties three times stronger than Blue Star Snow Lotus root)]

[Difficulty of acquisition: Extremely low (considered a common herb by the locals of the Frost Realm)]

[Channel Status: Pending Opening (Minor Cost)]

Zhou Ming glanced at it and made a decision: "Open a passage to the Heavenly Frost Realm."

"Are you sure?" Xiao Qi reminded her, "You're not in your best condition right now. You've been running all this way, and you're quite mentally exhausted."

"We can't wait." Zhou Ming took a picture of the doctor's prescription and saved it to his phone. "Xiaoyue is six years old, has a fever and a rash. If we delay any longer, she might develop complications—Old Chen's daughter is my client, and my client's business is my business. Open the door."

Xiao Qi didn't say anything more. In the alley next to the hospital, a circle of blue ripples spread silently, and silver-gray cracks slowly tore open in the shadows of the wall.

Zhou Ming squeezed in sideways, his backpack still containing half a low-grade spirit stone and an unused item-finding talisman that he had traded for last time.

The art style of the Heavenly Frost Realm is completely different from that of martial arts and fantasy.

He landed on a vast snowfield.

The sky was a low, leaden gray, and fine snowflakes fell like salt. In the distance, the dark green outlines of coniferous forests could be seen. The wind was cold, but fortunately, the air was dry and not biting.

What does a snow lotus from a cold region look like?

Xiaoqi displayed a picture in the encyclopedia: "White petals, pale purple roots, usually grows on the leeward side of the frozen ground. You should be able to see it if you walk north along that grove of trees."

Zhou Ming pulled his coat tighter and set off quickly. The snow crunched under his feet. After walking for about half an hour, he finally found a clump of small white flowers on a leeward slope at the edge of the forest. The petals were thick with slightly curled edges, and the stems were buried in the frozen soil. He knelt down and carefully dug up four or five plants, wrapped them up with the soil in a plastic bag he had prepared beforehand, and stuffed them into his backpack.

The whole process took less than twenty minutes.

On his way back, he picked up a few dry branches in the woods to use as camouflage, so that if he met anyone, he could say he was going into the mountains to collect herbs.

However, they didn't encounter a single person along the way. The Tian Shuang Realm was vast and sparsely populated, rich in resources, making it a natural "granary of medicinal herbs" for the Blue Star people.

The silver-gray corridor unfolded before him once more. As Zhou Ming crawled through, snowflakes still clung to his hair and shoulders. A small patch of water instantly soaked into the office floor tiles.

He immediately took a taxi back to the hospital. In the emergency room lobby, Chen Jianguo was still sitting in the same spot when he saw Zhou Ming come in. He suddenly stood up and his gaze fell on the plastic bag in Zhou Ming's hand.

"This is--"

"Snow lotus root. More potent than local medicines on Blue Star." Zhou Ming shoved the bag into his hand. "Take this to the doctor to see if it can replace the medicine in the prescription. If it's not enough or doesn't suit the condition, I'll go get some more."

Chen Jianguo looked down at the few white plants with soil in the plastic bag. Their roots were light purple, their leaves were fresh, and the soil was still damp.

His lips trembled, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he said nothing. He just nodded heavily, turned around and ran towards the doctor's office.

Zhou Ming leaned against the corridor wall and let out a long sigh. The sweat on his back dried in the cold wind, only to seep back out again. His hair, soaked with snow and sweat, clung to his forehead, feeling numb with cold. He was so tired he didn't even want to lift his hands, and his legs felt weak.

Xiao Qi's voice drifted out softly: "We didn't even discuss any payment for this trip."

"What's the rush?" Zhou Ming said with his eyes closed. "Reputation is built up from small things. Old Chen will bring me ten times more clients than the medical bills he owes me today. As a real estate agent, you need to have a broad vision—"

Before he could finish speaking, the door to the ward behind him suddenly opened.

A little girl stood in the doorway, wearing an oversized hospital gown and ill-fitting slippers.

She had two crooked pigtails, her cheeks were rosy, her eyelids were a little swollen, but her eyes were bright as she looked at him.

"Are you... the uncle who brought me flowers?"

Zhou Ming squatted down: "Xiaoyue?"

The little girl grinned, revealing a set of small, white teeth with a missing front tooth: "Daddy said an uncle brought me delicious flowers from a very, very far place. When I took my medicine today, it tasted so bitter, but afterward my tummy felt warm and not so bad."

She took a step forward like a little adult, and gently patted Zhou Ming's hand with her small hand: "Thank you, Uncle."

The warm touch in his palm startled Zhou Ming. Before he could reply, Xiaoyue was scooped up by the nurse who had chased after her: "Oh dear, little darling, why are you out of bed? The IV drip isn't finished yet—"

The ward door closed again, and through the glass, you could see Xiaoyue being carried back to bed, waving happily to the outside.

Zhou Ming squatted in the corridor, remaining in that position for quite a while without moving.

Even after Chen Jianguo came out of the doctor's office, his eyes were still red, but he couldn't suppress the upward curve of his lips. He walked over and plopped down next to Zhou Ming, without saying a word, just patting Zhou Ming on the back with a rather heavy pat.

After a long pause, Old Chen said in a hoarse voice, "From now on, you'll be my Xiaoyue's godfather."

"...No need for such a grand ceremony."

"If I say so, then it is."

The two sat side by side on a bench in the hospital corridor. The smell of disinfectant, the sound of a child crying in the next ward, and the buzzing of the fluorescent lights above them all blended together to form the background of this ordinary summer afternoon.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, shining brightly on the floor tiles.

Zhou Ming took out his phone and glanced at the time. It was 3 PM.

He was supposed to go to the Azure Sky Realm today.

But it doesn't matter, the Azure Sky Realm won't run away.

At least for now, he has an extra spot for a goddaughter and a loyal client willing to spread the word for him. These are the most valuable things a real estate agent can offer.

Xiao Qi sighed in the system, her tone unusually devoid of sarcasm: "Boss, you did something stupid today."

"What's wrong?"

"I traveled such a long way and put in so much effort, but there's not a single task record on the system panel. No points, no universal points, just a waste of money and time."

Zhou Ming put his phone back in his pocket, leaned back against the wall, and smirked: "Write this down. Label this order 'Emergency Customer Support - Free of Charge.' When I get tired of doing business someday and don't want to do it anymore, I'll use this kind of case to commemorate my good deeds."

Xiaoqi was silent for a moment, then said softly, "Okay, I've got it."

Sunlight shifted a pane of light through the window, and the faint, clear laughter of Xiaoyue and her father could be heard from the ward at the other end of the corridor.

Zhou Ming closed his eyes.

Finally, I can take a break.