Chapter 22
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 022
Chapter Title: All of It
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"Arghhh! My hand! My fingers!"
A scream echoed through the ceiling of Clear Moon Pavilion as if it would pierce right through it.
The chief physician, hailed as the empire's greatest healer, was rolling on the floor clutching his right hand—the very same hand that had just been taking Snowflower Princess's pulse.
The tips of the physician's fingers had turned a ghastly blue, as if frostbitten, with white frost clinging around his nails.
"Th-this isn't a human pulse! It's an ice ghost! No living body could emit such cold!"
Terrified, the physician scrambled backward.
The room presented a bizarre scene.
Over ten braziers burned with the finest charcoal, filling the air with such sweltering heat that anyone stepping inside would feel their breath catch in their throat. The maids' foreheads glistened with beads of sweat as they struggled against the oppressive warmth.
But at the center of the room.
Within a three-meter radius of the bed where Snowflower Princess lay, it was like another world entirely.
Icicles hung from the bedposts, and white frost blanketed the silk bedding like fresh snow. At the boundary where heat clashed with cold, white steam rose endlessly, creating a dreamy yet eerie atmosphere.
"Cold..."
Snowflower, buried under the covers, shivered as she moaned, her lips trembling.
Her lips were already drained of color, turned a deathly blue, and the tears on her eyelashes had frozen into tiny ice beads.
"So cold... Someone, stoke the fire..."
Instinctively curling up in search of warmth, she found none. No one dared approach her. Even the realm's greatest physician had nearly lost his fingertips to rot—what fool would plunge into that murderous chill?
"Physician! Isn't there any way? The princess will die at this rate!"
The senior palace maid pleaded through choked sobs, but the physician just shook his head vigorously, clearly plotting his escape.
"I told you, it's incurable! This isn't an illness—it's a curse! You want to see my fingers chopped off?"
In the midst of this hellish chaos.
As everyone despaired and backed away, the firmly shut door swung wide open.
Creeeak—
"Tsk, fleeing from a patient right in front of you? And still expect your salary to slide down your throat?"
A bold, arrogant voice cut through the tension.
All eyes turned to the door. There stood Cheonwi.
He wore a feigned grave expression, but his eyes gleamed like a predator spotting prey as he strode into the room.
"V-Vice Chief Eunuch Cheonwi?"
The senior palace maid stared at him in shock.
Ignoring her, he marched forward without hesitation, crossing the invisible barrier the physicians had set up and stepping straight into the cold zone.
Whoosh—
A bone-chilling cold wrapped around him like knives slicing his skin. For an ordinary person, their blood would freeze solid in moments.
Yet the corner of his mouth curled upward.
'Perfect. Fresh as can be.'
This vicious yin energy, this bone-piercing chill—it was the ultimate nourishment for Cheonwi's pure yang qi.
He sat at the bedside and casually placed his hand on Snowflower's trembling forehead.
"No! Your hand will freeze!"
The physician screamed.
But the next moment, the room filled not with screams, but the sizzle of searing meat.
Sssshhhh—!
"...!"
Where Cheonwi's palm met the princess's forehead, an explosion of steam burst forth.
He channeled the boiling pure yang qi from his dantian into his palm.
His lava-hot yang energy crushed the invading cold that plagued her head without mercy.
"Ugh..."
The furrow between Snowflower's brows slowly relaxed amid her pained groans.
It was as if she'd been trapped in a midwinter blizzard and suddenly sat before a roaring hearth—relief spread across her face.
With a stern tone—but inwardly cheering—Cheonwi delivered his diagnosis.
"This isn't an illness."
"What? What do you mean...?"
"It's not a disease, but the 'curse of the ice crystal.' Her innate yin energy has spiraled out of control, now freezing even her life force. The cold has seeped into her bones, turning her blood to ice."
The senior palace maid's face drained of color at his words.
"A curse? Then what should we do? Is there no way?"
"There's only one method."
He paused, fixing his gaze on Snowflower.
She looked up at him faintly regaining consciousness, her hazy blue eyes pleading for salvation.
"Inject 'yang qi' hotter than the sun directly into her meridians to melt the ice embedded in her bones."
"Yang qi...?"
"Yes. Extremely potent, pure, scorching yang qi. Fortunately, I know how to wield it."
Cheonwi rolled up his sleeves with a confident smile.
"Prepare yourselves."
"Wh-what should we prepare? Shall I fetch a medicine bath?"
"No."
He shook his head firmly and dropped a bombshell that stunned everyone in the room.
"Strip the princess of her clothes."
"...Pardon?"
The senior palace maid blinked in disbelief. Snowflower's eyes on the bed widened in shock.
"Cl-clothes? How far...?"
"Everything. Not a single thread left."
Silence.
The room fell as quiet as if doused with ice water. The maids' faces flushed crimson, on the verge of bursting. Demanding the princess bare herself—and from an eunuch, no less. This was blasphemy worthy of dismemberment; no words could defend it.
"Have you lost your mind? How dare you speak of the princess's sacred body...!"
"It's all to save her life."
Cheonwi stood his ground, utterly shameless.
"Her body is trapped in an ice barrier right now. Even a single layer of silk will scatter the yang qi I infuse before it reaches her. Efficiency drops! In a race against every second, you want to fuss over clothes and let her heart freeze? Will you take responsibility then?"
His fierce roar silenced the senior palace maid—not by logic, but sheer intimidation.
Then, a frail voice emerged from the bed.
"No..."
Snowflower gritted her teeth in resistance.
"I can't let... a mere eunuch see my body... I'd rather die..."
True to the ice princess of the north—even on death's door, her pride held firm.
But Cheonwi knew exactly how to handle stubborn patients like her.
He leaned close to her ear, whispering so only she could hear.
"Princess. You want to cling to pride, freeze to death, and never see your homeland again?"
"...!"
"Die here, and you're just another traveler lost abroad. The emperor will feign grief for a few days and forget you. Frost Palace in the north will bow to the empire's gaze and can't even claim your body. Want to die like a stray dog?"
Her pupils shook violently.
Home. Family. The duty to survive. A heavier reality than the fear of death crushed her pride.
"You must live. Live to one day see your snow-covered mountains again, right?"
Cheonwi landed the finishing blow, staring straight into her eyes.
His gaze seemed earnest like a healer's on the surface, but deep within burned an unconcealable greed.
'Choose. Freeze to death, or get devoured by me.'
Tears streamed from Snowflower's eyes, soaking the pillow.
She bit her lip in humiliation, but survival instinct overpowered reason. With great effort, she nodded.
"...I permit it."
Those words shifted the room's atmosphere.
Cheonwi gestured to the maids.
"You heard her. Hurry. Time's running out."
The maids approached the princess's bed, tears welling up.
Swish, swish.
The sound of silk garments being removed rang unnaturally loud. Layer upon layer of ornate robes peeled away until the final undergarment was gone.
"Hic..."
Snowflower squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head in shame.
Cheonwi swallowed hard, taking in the sight.
'Wow...'
An exclamation escaped him.
Snowflower's nude form, utterly bare, was a masterpiece.
Her skin, pale as if translucent, glowed softly like moonlight, revealing faint blue veins beneath that evoked a mysterious, poignant beauty.
Lush curves, a slender waist, elegant lines taut from the cold.
She was a frigid ice sculpture, yet the woman who ignited the world's hottest desires.
"It's... ready..."
The senior palace maid said, head turned away, voice quivering.
Cheonwi took a deep breath and rubbed his palms together—not for friction, but channeling inner energy to heat them.
Whoosh—
Invisible flames enveloped his hands.
"Excuse me, Princess."
Cheonwi climbed onto the bed. His shadow fell over her bare form.
Snowflower's body flinched. She tried to cover her chest with her arms, but they fell limp, strengthless.
"Relax. Resistance will cause the energies to clash and hurt more."
Cheonwi gently parted her arms to the sides, exposing her defenseless cleavage.
The body's center, Tanzhong Acupoint. That was his first target.
He pressed his heated right palm slowly—but firmly—onto the middle of her cleavage.
And bore down.
Thud.
"Haah...!"
A moan escaped Snowflower's lips—pain or pleasure, impossible to tell.
Sssshhhh—!
White steam rose again where his palm touched. But this was leagues beyond the forehead.
Closest to her heart. The lair of the ice crystal curse took a direct hit from his pure yang qi.
"Ah, aaah!"
Her back arched like a bow.
She snapped her eyes open, staring at Cheonwi.
To her, trapped in utter cold, his palm's heat was no mere warmth—it was a shock.
Like lava flowing over frozen earth.
Ice shards blocking her veins melted in an instant, her stalled blood surging fiercely once more.
It was a scorching agony, yet an intoxicatingly sweet pleasure.
'It's melting. The ice inside me... it's melting.'
Snowflower shuddered at this alien heat she'd never felt before.
Shame had long since melted away. Her body craved more instinctively.
Cheonwi's hand slid from her cleavage to her collarbone, then her abdomen.
Frost melted wherever he touched, her white skin flushing red.
"Hah, ugh! So hot, too hot...!"
Suppressed moans began spilling from her lips.
Not cries for mercy.
Pleas laced with longing for more, hotter touch.
Her body writhed to his touch. Her once-cold skin greedily absorbed the heat from his palm.
He grinned and poured in even more inner energy.
'Yes, that's it. Now she's finally starting to cook.'
This was the moment the ice princess's seal began to break.
And this was merely the prelude to the long treatment ahead.