A woman was floating on the surface of the sea, face up, back down, her limbs bobbing in the water.
Her eyes were closed, her features were delicate, and she looked to be only in her early twenties, with fair and smooth skin, as if she had been bathed in milk.
Her hair was thick and dark, appearing extremely glossy under the sunlight.
She was completely naked, exposing all her beauty to the air; her figure was almost perfect, with tiny water droplets on her body, making her even more alluring.
Seeing the woman, Ali initially thought she was swimming, but a moment later, the young fisherman realized something was wrong; the girl wasn't moving at all, looking as if she had drowned.
The young fisherman didn't think much and immediately leaped into the water.
He was a good swimmer; even though he was just an ordinary person, he quickly reached the girl.
A moment later, he rescued her and brought her onto the boat.
After placing the girl down, Ali quickly checked her breathing, only to find she had no breath.
Just as the young fisherman didn't know what to do, the girl suddenly opened her eyes.
But she only opened her eyes for a moment, then closed them again, as if she had fallen unconscious.
Ali quickly took off his own clothes and covered the girl.
He looked at his already plentiful catch, then glanced at the girl on the boat: "How about we call it a day?"
So he began rowing the fishing boat towards the private port.
When the port was in sight, he heard a sound from behind him.
The young fisherman carefully turned his head and saw the extremely beautiful Miss sitting up, looking around blankly, and pulling tighter the clothes Ali had draped over her.
"You, you're awake?"
"Who are you, Miss? Where are you going? Perhaps I can take you back."
Ali tried to ask, but he was already prepared for her not to respond.
After all, this beautiful Miss was clearly a person of high status, completely from a different world than a fisherman like himself.
Ali had been to Bayam, where the upper-class people wouldn't even give him a second glance.
"Kardashian, I don't know where I'm going; I'm looking for someone."
She answered me!
Ali was overjoyed, unable to believe his ears; such a noble Miss actually spoke to him?
He tried to ask: "Miss Kardashian, who are you looking for? Perhaps I can help."
"What is the name of the person you're looking for?"
The girl, pulling her clothes tighter, looked bewildered: "Name? I'm not sure."
The young fisherman paused, then asked: "Then, are you looking for a man or a woman, an old person or a young person?"
Kardashian was lost in thought, and after a moment, she said: "It's a young man."
Ali suddenly felt a pang of disappointment; a young man, that must be this beautiful Miss's husband, or lover, right?
"He, what does he look like?"
Kardashian seemed to be lost in memories, and after a while, she replied: "His hair is black, his eyes are dark blue, his skin is darker, and there's a faint scar below his left eye."
"He's here, I can feel him..."
This is definitely a couple deeply in love!
If not for being deeply in love, how could one feel the other's presence?
Ali's heart suddenly felt a little sour.
He gave a bitter smile and thought to himself: What are you thinking? Do you really believe you could have such a beautiful Miss?
However, how could that young man bear to leave such a beautiful Miss? If it were me, I would want to be with her every day, every moment!
"I, I can help you."
Ali turned around and said: "The largest city here is Bayam; if the person you're looking for is here, then he must be in Bayam."
"Tomorrow, tomorrow I will go to Bayam to help you find him."
Kardashian raised her head, and the young fisherman's dark face was reflected in her beautiful but somewhat lifeless eyes.
"Okay."
She nodded almost imperceptibly, then lay down, as if very tired, and fell asleep.
Ali felt a little disappointed; he had originally expected Kardashian to say 'thank you' to him.
But she only said 'okay,' as if his doing things for her was the most normal thing.
"However, being able to help such a noble Miss is also an honor.
And who knows, she might reward me afterward." Thinking of this, the young fisherman's heart grew warm.
At this moment, he passed a fishing boat, and an old man on the boat called out: "Ali, are you going back?"
Ali, facing the sun, showed a mouthful of white teeth: "Yes, Old Man Fete, I have important things to do."
The old man, missing a front tooth, laughed: "What important things do you have? You're not thinking of going to the Red Theater to find girls, are you? I'm telling you, that's not a place for you."
Ali didn't answer, waved goodbye, and rowed harder.
The old man glanced at Ali's boat and whispered: "Strange, who was that kid talking to just now? He didn't run into a water ghost, did he?"
He had seen Ali from a long distance away; the old man saw Ali constantly looking back and talking to the air, as if there was someone else on the boat.
It was already evening.
Lex took the materials for the transaction, left the 'Azure Wind' hotel, and took a carriage to the Sea Wave Cathedral, instructing the coachman to wait for him.
Entering the church, Lex met Chogo and took out the crystal bottle containing 'Remnant Spirituality of Ancient Wraiths' smiling as he handed it to the Bishop.
The tall old man took the bottle, felt the abundant Spiritual Energy within, nodded, handed it to a nearby priest, and told Lex without concealment: "Please wait a moment; authenticating the materials will take some time."
After all, it was a 5500 pound transaction; even if the Storm Church was wealthy, they wouldn't just hand over the money casually.
After the priest with the materials left, Chogo brought out a leather case and placed it on the table: "This is your bounty."
He counted out a thick stack of pounds from the leather case, along with two bounty warrants, and handed them all to Lex.
Lex picked up the bounty warrants and glanced at them, focusing on the bounty section, then counted the pounds in front of the Bishop, confirming that the stack of pounds exactly matched the number on the bounty warrants.
As with Skye Island before, for bounties claimed by the Storm Church, the church did not deduct a single cent of handling fees, which was one of the reasons Lex was happy to deal with the Storm Church.
As soon as he put away the money, the previous priest returned, reported to Chogo in his ear, and then stepped aside.
Chogo laughed heartily: "The materials have been authenticated, so, here are 5500 pounds."
He pushed the entire leather case over.
Lex glanced at the neatly arranged stacks of pounds inside, and he was instantly immersed in happiness.
Throwing the bounty he had just received into the leather case, Lex stood up, pressed his hand to his hat, and said: "Then, I'll take my leave; I wish you a pleasant evening, Your Excellency Chogo."
The old man returned a smile: "May the Storm be with you."
After Lex left, Deacon Cordoba came in: "When did we start recovering Seer pathway Beyonder materials?"
Chogo chuckled: "Although we don't control this pathway, we can use them for other transactions, and at the very least, we can collect them."
"After all, these are the main materials for a Sequence 5.
One less main Material means one less Marionettist in the world, and you know, the Secret Order is not our friend."
Hearing this, Cordoba nodded in agreement.