Feng Ju threw a bag of coins at the man who had said that he had seen Zhao Ming going to the lakeside. Since he knows he can't find her like this, he decided to ask people about her, using her appearance and the dress she was wearing.

The dress she was wearing may be simple and plain but its material was expensive and not everyone could afford it. Such expensive clothing material can be worn by nobles and people from the high class only. So it was not hard to recognize her among the crowd.

Although he was not sure but with the way the man explained to him, it looked like it was Zhao Ming.

" His Majesty went to search for Her Majesty by the lakeside area. I wonder if he found her by now or not." He murmured while turning his horse towards the lakeside area.

-

When he reached by the lake, he was shocked to see a few familiar things littered around the lakeside area. He hurried up his horse's pace and when he reached near the lake, he was shocked to see unconscious Lu shi who was bleeding lying beside the large boulder.

"Lu Shi..!!" he shouted in horror with his eyes widened in worry and shock. He hurriedly got off the horse and before he could walk to her side, he noticed something.

He walked towards the lake and picked up the shoe. " This...this is His Majesty's shoe." His eyes widened as he looked at the infamous lake which was known for being deep and many people have drowned in it.

" His Majesty..

Before he could get over this shock, he noticed another shoe that looked like Zhao Ming's. He was shocked, not knowing what to do he also jumped in it.

The water was icy cold but he couldn't care less. He has a responsibility to save the sovereign of the country and he can't fail to do that.

-

Zhao Ming who had her eyes closed snapped her eyes open and blinked,?seeing herself surrounded by the water. She was under the water and was getting breathless by every moment. She couldn't see anything under the water but the water was strangely not freezing cold but hot?

'I am not in Hell, am I?' she wondered.

'Am I being fried in the hot oil? Is this the infamous hell where people were fried in boiling hot oil? But it's not that hot and it doesn't feel like oil. The temperature of the water was warm and very relaxing.' She wondered with her head under the water.

Her feet, which were earlier struggling to find a surface in the lake, found a surface, helping her to stand up on her feet. She finally managed to come to the surface and gasped, trying to breathe.

She removed her wet hair that was stuck on her face and neck. She breathed heavily while rubbing her eyes to look around.

" It's not hell? What place is this?" she wondered.

The place was surrounded by green trees, the water was clean and clear unlike the green algae water of the lake. It was not the icy cold water but the fresh hot water. The landscape looked beautiful and it was breathtaking.

" Did I come here by swimming?" she wondered, looking around the strange place. However, she clearly remembered that despite her struggles, she couldn't help but keep sinking into the water.

She frowned when she remembered faintly that she saw someone's figure in the water but couldn't see the face of that person properly. " Did that person save me?" she wondered, calming down.

" Ah, Lu shi!! She will be fine, right? I have to find my way back to the palace to save her. I hope those thugs wouldn't have done something to her." she rubbed her neck when panic engulfed her. Her hands shivered remembering the events and the figure of Lu shi who was bleeding came to her mind.

*Splash*

She was busy in her thoughts, wondering how to leave this place when someone emerged from the water behind her, startling her.

" AHhhh" she screamed in horror, thinking that it might be some water animal or worse, those thugs. She closed her eyes and shouted over her lungs when she felt someone grabbing her neck, placing a palm over her mouth to make her quiet. She shivered at the strange person's touch.

Her senses alerted and she started using her hands to punch that person in fear with her eyes closed.

" Shhh...It's me." However, she quieted down when she heard a familiar voice.

She slowly opened her eyes and looked at the man in front of her with her widened eyes.

" Ji...Ji Cheng?" she murmured seeing him, all wet with his clothes stuck to his body looking at her with his deep eyes. She blinked when she looked at his toned figure with wet clothes stuck to his body.

He sighed when she stopped shouting and looked around the strange place. He held her shoulders to make her stand properly and pushed his hair back with a hand, " You...you are not hurt, are you?" he asked while looking at her seriously.

He was so scared when he saw her shoes near the lake with Lu shi bleeding on the side. He still remembered the fear when he saw her struggling to come up to the surface of the water. He didn't know what happened there but seeing the condition at that time, he didn't have the time to think about anything and jumped into the water to save her.

His body was feeling tired, not remembering how they managed to come here. But seeing her standing in front of him alive and fine, he was relieved.

She stared at him in shock and daze, seeing him talking to her in a calming tone and not the sarcastic one.

Ji Cheng looked around and frowned seeing the hot water everywhere and the trees, " I never knew there was a hot spring in Ji City. Seems like we came quite a far away while swimming."

Zhao Ming also frowned but the whole setting was unfamiliar yet familiar at the same time. She looked around the place carefully, trying to deny the feeling which was rippling inside her.

" It can't be," she muttered as she looked around the area with her eyes widened in shock.?She chuckled nervously, taking a twirl in her place, she tried to look in every corner.

Her eyes widened when she noticed the wooden plank on the corner on which it was written,

[WELCOME TO THE HOTEL 'THE KING]

"

Read this novel only on W e b n o v e l . c o m ( remove spaces). If you are reading this elsewhere, other than w e b n o v e l then this novel has been stolen. Support the original author by reading it on w e b n o v e l, not the thieves, and get the latest updates. Follow the author on Instagram for more: kamlyn_love. Regards Kamlyn]