Lily Carter didn’t say a word, letting Grace Brooks push her by the shoulders, moving her in front of her younger sister.

Sophie blinked, looking a bit confused.

So Lily Carter, expressionless, reached out both hands and pressed them onto Sophie’s face, spreading the sunscreen evenly bit by bit. During this process, Sophie stood perfectly still, letting her sister do as she pleased, sneaking glances at her, not daring to move or speak.

Grace Brooks nodded to himself—

Such deep sisterly affection.

Chapter 8: Divine Protective Light

Kaguya Seaview Hotel.

“Beep beep!”

Sophie swiped the room card to open the door, carried her small suitcase inside, and tried to close the door behind her.

Whoosh!

A hand blocked the door, stopping her from closing it.

Lily Carter stood at the doorway, full of question marks.

Sophie shrank her neck, quickly opened the door wider to let her sister in, all the while watching her sister’s expression.

So scared...

“Smack.”

Her sister gave her a light tap on the head.

Sophie didn’t dare say a word, just glanced toward the door.

Grace Brooks stood outside, beaming: “Take a break, we’ll rent some scooters and go out for a ride in a bit.”

Sophie nodded obediently, glanced back at her sister, and finally closed the door.

……

5 p.m.

Two scooters stopped by the seaside, and the three of them, wearing flip-flops, strolled slowly along the beach.

Grace Brooks carried a bucket, which only held a few scattered fish and some tiny crabs the size of fingernails. He was puzzled: “How come in those clam-digging videos, people can easily catch big lobsters, big octopuses, big crabs, and there are razor clam holes everywhere? Why can’t I find any?”

Lily Carter shot him a glance, as if looking at an idiot.

Sophie also snuck a look at him, but said nothing.

They played until dusk, then the three of them sat in a row on the sand, stretching out their legs and letting the increasingly chilly waves gently lick their feet.

Quietly watching the distance.

The setting sun sank into the orange sea.

Qingqing’s legs are really long.

The scene was perfectly harmonious, until Grace Brooks scooted closer to Lily Carter: “Sophie, come take a picture of us.”

“……”

The little girl got up expressionlessly, but her movements were quick and neat.

The sun had already been completely swallowed by the sea, leaving only a stunning gradient in the sky, more beautiful than any rouge in the world. Dotted across the beach were people walking around, some of whom also looked like young people traveling after finishing their big exams. At the far left end of the beach was the dark silhouette of a mountain—Nanshan.

It was only the second day of the holiday; there were still several days left.

Grace Brooks glanced back and saw someone jogging on the embankment, so he said:

“I’ll come run here tomorrow too.”

Lily Carter looked at him but said nothing.

“Click!”

The little girl came back with Grace Brooks’s phone, handed it to him, and stood in front of him with her hands behind her back, like a student waiting for the teacher to grade her homework.

“Great shot.”

Grace Brooks grinned at the little girl, but she still didn’t say a word.

Just like her sister, not talkative.

……

Drinking sweet soup, riding speedboats, eating seafood, diving, playing on the island, and buying a seafood zongzi to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival—the four days passed quickly.

Soon it was the evening of the sixth day of May.

Grace Brooks, just like the previous days, put on shorts, a quick-dry shirt, running shoes, and headphones, and went out for a run.

Running by the sea really is different—the sea breeze on your face makes your steps lighter.

He took a few night photos along the way, asked a passing girl to take a picture for him, and finished his run right at the foot of Nanshan.

He took a screenshot from his running app, added the photos from before, made a nine-photo collage, and posted it to his Moments, showing off his second-level cultivator’s pace and travel vibes.

After posting, he looked up and saw Nanshan.

Nanshan is a great place—during the day you can overlook the sea, at night you can enjoy the view of the Sea Beast Harbor, and it doesn’t take long to climb up, maybe half an hour for an average person.

Nanshan has a front and a back.

Tourists all go to the front, where there are wide steps to walk on.

The back is a cemetery and a small path; almost no one comes here at night, and it’s only lively during the second day of the New Year and Qingming Festival.

Grace Brooks naturally took the front path.

He reached the top of Nanshan, took a night photo to send to Qingqing, then started walking toward the back.

This path was really hard to walk.

Because the cemetery on the back only goes halfway up, the good path also only goes halfway. From the top to the cemetery, it’s all dirt trails, long overgrown with weeds.

Grace Brooks had no intention of going all the way down to the cemetery, just walked a few dozen meters and stopped, humming a tune absentmindedly as he undid his belt, glancing toward the corner of Section 3 of the Nanshan cemetery, which wasn’t far in a straight line.

He didn’t see anything.

But he could faintly hear police sirens.

Grace Brooks looked in the direction of the sound and saw two police cars with flashing lights speeding down the distant road. There were no cars in front of the police cars, but if you looked closely, you could see a rapidly moving black shadow.

A typical chase scene.