They had been driving for a while, and all Shao Yan could see is either river, mountain, or more greeneries.

After a few turns, the mini-bus finally slowed down, and gradually, a building emerged in her view.

Shao Yan alighted from the mini-bus and the surrounding area captured her heart right away.

From the outside, the building looked very grand, yet at the same time, it had rustic charm. 

The roof was formed with dark blue tiles and soft white walls. Wooden frame windows were all over the feudal looking building. The building might look like it was only one story inn. But if someone was to walk around it and they could see from another angle, it was actually three stories high.

Not the biggest building, but in this secluded area, this was the only building that stood proudly amongst the nature.

Wooden bridge was spanned from the roadside where she was standing which connected it to the building; crossing over a small creek underneath. The rest of two stories were hidden from the road, as they were on the lower surface by the creek.

Red and brown leaves covered the area, as the wind blew softly; giving out a serene feeling.

If Shao Yan did not know better, she would have guessed that this was an abandoned mini castle.

And she was some princess that was kidnapped by.. Huh?

Shao Yan swiftly turned her head around, and looked at Li Xiqing, "Mister, are you kidnapping me right now?" she tilted her head to the side, "I just realized. Along the way here, every road sign and every single person only speak j.a.panese. Not a single English can be found."

Her soft eyebrows slowly knitted together as she paused for a while to think, before she slowly continued, "Even the people with us inside the bus, they are all local j.a.panese. If you left me here, I would have lost my way."

Li Xiqing pursed his lips as he was feeling amused by her logic.

He brushed her hair and gave out a soft chuckles. He lifted up their luggage and started to walk to the bridge, "Axel and I decided to invest in this place. Take a look around, this place has a tremendous potential if it is exposed to more International tourist. And that is where Axel and I come into the picture."

Shao Yan nodded along his words, "This place is indeed amazing. I feel like I am being transported to another world. It is so peaceful here." And then she pouted while mumbling, "I should have brought my camera."

Li Xiqing smiled when he heard Yan Yan unconsciously lowered her voice, and spoke more gently as she praised the area.

"You will have many chances in the future. This place is ours to visit anytime you want. You will fall in love with it more when you see what this place has to offer. Let's go."

The wooden bridge was leading to a stone path, which eventually led them towards the entrance of the building.

As the wooden sliding doors opened, two women and men dressed in purple traditional kimono; were smiling politely with a slight bow, "Welcome!" as they greeted them in j.a.panese.

They were standing behind a simple counter that Shao Yan a.s.sumed was the front desk.

After they completed their check in process, another woman dressed in purple kimono walked over and started to show them the way to their room.

As they were walking, Shao Yan read the booking invoice that had been printed out in English and handed over to her. It was detailing their stay for the week, room number, and few hotel rules and regulations.

At the bottom of the paper, there were two options for dinner time, five and six o'clock; and Li Xiqing had selected six o'clock.

She glanced at her watch to see that they had around two hours to spend before the meal started.

Shao Yan started to read the other marketing brochures that the hotel had given to her to see what Li Xiqing and her could possibly do while waiting.

"They can actually send our luggage to our room. Do you need to see the room, or do you want to explore the area outside right away?"

Li Xiqing had paused his steps and was looking at her, while Shao Yan was too engrossed in reading the brochures. She lifted her head up to see he was looking at her, and the other woman was also waiting for them.

"If you don't mind, let's just explore the area. I am too curious to see what else they have here," she said as she walked closer to Li Xiqing while waving the brochures in her hands, "the pictures shown here are too breathtaking, I need to see it with my own eyes," and then she grinned at him.

Li Xiqing nodded his acknowledgement, and then he turned around and told their decision to the woman who was waiting for them.

She replied politely, "Then please leave your stuff here, I will have someone deliver it to your room."

They walked hand in hand as they exited the main building. Another stone path was leading them to the creek that Shao Yan had seen earlier.

As they walked outside, she saw a simple signboard with arrows pointing to different directions: 'Heaven Spring', 'Fairy Spring', 'Rainbow Spring', 'Restaurant' and 'Garden'.

Shao Yan took out the brochures again and started to read each one of them.

After reading for a while, she suddenly exclaimed, "Oh Xiqing, this is so smart," she tugged his arm, and pointed to the paper, "see here. They called it Heaven Spring, because the hot spring was found at a certain elevation on the hills and it's open for all genders. Fairy Spring is only for women. And Rainbow Spring is also for all genders, but since it is located near the creek, you can see rainbows every so often."

And then she looked back at him, while beaming excitedly, "Shall we try one of the hot spring now?"