Surviving as the Terminally Ill Young Lady of the North Sea Ice Palace - Chapter 15

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 15
Peng Zhonglie’s mouth fell open.
It was clear he hadn’t anticipated in the slightest that I would use my Inner Energy to attack him.
‘Has no one ever rushed at him like this before?’
I’d thought I was following the textbook answer, but he was far more shocked than I’d expected.
“Kha-ha-ha-ha! Got me good there. You’re right—there wasn’t any rule saying you couldn’t do that!”
Whoosh—
Still, he didn’t hold it against me.
Peng Zhonglie laughed heartily, tossed me a pouch containing Antidote, and took the severed sleeve instead.
When I opened the pouch right there, I found three Antidotes inside, just as promised.
“Well now. The Namgung Clan certainly is impressive. Another group to clear the Changchangguan… You’re only the second.”
“The Namgung Clan?”
“That Geom Yong fellow from their side just took what was his and left without a word, but the younger sibling here is a bit better. I like it!”
I wondered why he suddenly brought up the Namgung Clan.
“…So my older brother cleared the Changchangguan as well.”
Namgung Min’s face turned cold and rigid.
Since she’d mentioned being the second child of the Changtian Sword King, it seemed her older brother had passed the same test at the Academy years ago.
“That’s right. Tsk, if I’d known this, there would’ve been no need to hand out three Spirit Medicines. Hmm… You made a good choice, yielding the Spirit Medicine to Seol Suyeo as well. Did you calculate that I’m least proficient with the Ice Technique?”
But really, this Peng Zhonglie fellow talked far too much.
How should I know anything about ancient history?
Praise means little if it isn’t expressed through something tangible like Spirit Medicine.
I cut him off quickly, worried he might accidentally mention that there had actually been two Spirit Medicines in the Changchangguan’s pouch.
“Thank you for viewing us so favorably. You two should take your Antidote right away. Don’t you need to check whether your friends safely consumed theirs as well?”
I clasped my fist toward Peng Zhonglie and handed the Antidotes to the other two, urging them forward.
Myeong Seong and Namgung Min both had followers who’d come with them.
Shouldn’t we, as disciples of the major sects, look after those youngsters too?
“Much obliged, Seol. We are grateful for your instruction, Master.”
Myeong Seong obediently consumed his Antidote.
“…I appreciate it. But I must ask you to withdraw your praise of both the Namgung Clan and myself. I am far from matching my older brother. Without Seol Suyeo, I would not have cleared the Changchangguan.”
Namgung Min made clear that her own contributions were not what mattered.
“Hmm?”
At her words, Peng Zhonglie’s expression shifted.
Though I was the one who’d severed the sleeve at the end, both had fought well during the three-against-one Martial Trial just now, and given his existing perception, he likely assumed Namgung Min had taken the lead in finding the Antidote within the Changchangguan.
‘I would’ve thought the same.’
Even when the groups were first formed, I’d fully expected to coast along, so I felt no sense of injustice now.
Wasn’t the Namgung Clan the unquestionably supreme clan in the land?
‘Still… I don’t think there’s a separate reward coming.’
I kept glancing at Peng Zhonglie after receiving the Antidote, but he only looked surprised—he didn’t seem to have any intention of giving me anything else.
Then again, since no one was injured, it would be strange to award a Recommendation Token.
“If I may ask, Master Peng, might I earn additional Antidotes by challenging other martial instructors besides yourself?”
If not, I’d have to acquire them myself.
If he said it was possible, I’d thought of charging the other students for my help in exchange for something.
“Ah, no! That’s not allowed! Each student may challenge exactly one martial instructor, only once!”
Peng Zhonglie recited a rule that seemed highly suspicious to have been improvised just now.
“I see. What a shame… I thought it would be an opportunity to learn from multiple masters.”
“Hah! The others are still scrambling to detoxify and you’re already getting greedy!”
He assured me that after Entry, there would be plenty of chances to participate in Instructional Martial Trials.
Since it honestly didn’t seem likely to happen, I wasn’t particularly disappointed.
“Yes. For today, I’ll simply observe and wait for the next opportunity. Ah, why don’t you two go ahead and challenge the martial instructors as well?”
“Ah…”
“Master, I want to challenge them!”
At my words, the other students who’d been glancing over while sparring with each other sprang into action.
Some rushed straight to the martial instructors to challenge them, while others asked students who had already consumed Antidote to help them.
After all, aside from the three of us, not a single student had yet fought against a martial instructor.
“Um, Seol.”
And there was a student approaching me.
“What?”
“Eek! I’m sorry!”
I’d only answered plainly, but the unknown student suddenly flinched and fled.
What was that about? Does this person have some strange prejudice against the Beihei Binggong? I’m not going to eat anyone.
“You there, Seol Suyeo…….”
Another student approached.
Not alone — five of them came together.
“Since you’ve already found your Inner Energy, you must have the Antidote your master gave you, yes?”
“I do.”
I showed them a pouch containing extra Antidotes.
I’d hidden one from Myeong Seong and Namgung Min without their knowledge.
But this one had been seen by too many people to conceal entirely.
“You want to fight me?”
You think it’s better to challenge me than a martial master?
That seemed like a rather amusing notion, so I reached for my sword at once.
“No, no, no, no!”
“We wouldn’t dream of such a thing!”
They frantically waved their hands in denial.
If not to fight, then what?
Surely they weren’t about to make some shameless request asking for it free…….
“Would you consider selling it to us? We can offer you ten silver coins!”
As I studied them silently, one of them put forward a plausible proposition.
Ten silver coins?
Beihei’s currency economy wasn’t particularly active, but——
in Zhongyuan, silver coins were currency used for high-value transactions.
I knew that a single silver coin could support a commoner’s family for over a month.
Of course, the price structure was very different from modern times.
And with such a wide gap between necessities and luxury goods——
merchants from Zhongyuan would sometimes buy Beihei furs for just a few silver coins.
But the fact that he was offering ten coins so readily meant he was clearly quite wealthy.
“Hmm…….”
“Twelve coins!”
As I stood there touching my lips without answering, another student cried out.
“Fifteen coins from me!”
“No wait, I’ll give thirty coins!”
Oh, the price keeps rising?
Most of them were children from wealthy families, so their spending scale was different.
‘Should I sell?’
My heart wavered for a moment, but it wasn’t as though I lacked money.
I glanced back at Peng Zhonglie.
Would he actually confiscate what remained if I said I was selling it?
But watching the bidding unfold, Peng Zhonglie made no move to stop it.
He simply observed me with an expression of great interest.
“I’m not selling it today.”
That demeanor actually gave me confidence.
I spoke firmly.
“Ah…….”
The student who’d proposed the deal looked disappointed, while Peng Zhonglie seemed surprised.
Yes, even at thirty silver coins, it would likely be a profitable transaction for him.
“Let me attend the Academy for a few days first, and we can talk about it then. Having no Inner Energy isn’t causing any immediate problems, is it?”
Right now, I couldn’t say exactly how much inconvenience it would be to attend the Academy for a month or two without Inner Energy.
From what we knew so far, just restricted dormitory access?
But it would certainly make keeping up with lessons difficult.
As I spent day after day in Academy life, I had a feeling the Antidote’s value would rise above thirty silver coins.
‘I’ll see and sell it for more.’
Of course, I didn’t want to incur unnecessary enmity.
So I redirected my words toward the Academy and the martial masters.
“It’s a shame I only have one extra Antidote. If I could’ve gotten them from the other masters too, I would’ve fought alongside you.”
I could say this because I’d already received a refusal from Peng Zhonglie.
“We…… are grateful even for those kind words.”
The naive student nodded with a disappointed expression.
A few others made price offers after that, but as I said, today I had no intention of selling no matter what amount they named.
“Crash!”
Looking over, the martial master who’d been challenged was flinging a student aside with ease.
Peng Zhonglie still didn’t attack the younger students indiscriminately—though his standards weren’t entirely consistent, it seemed.
Some of the children who found their Inner Energy after watching what I did ended up in my group and challenged the stations, but
regrettably, after our group, not a single student had managed to extract an Antidote from the instructors.
* * *
I lingered around the grounds, watching the students’ challenges until they all returned.
Those who had taken the Antidote sat down looking peaceful, while the children who hadn’t managed to obtain one looked positively wretched.
From what I heard, even in the obvious places—on the pavilion platform, beneath trees—retrieving the Antidote wasn’t simply a matter of finding it.
You had to dig beneath a tree for quite a while before a pouch appeared, or
the pavilion pillars were so slippery that without Lightness Skill you couldn’t climb them with bare hands—that sort of thing.
“Some kind of oil was smeared on them. I tried climbing several times, but couldn’t manage it. When I suggested tearing down the pavilion, the instructor’s disciple suggested bringing a rock and stacking it nearby instead.”
In the case of Cheongshim Tower, where Maeng Ryeongji went, the structure was designed so you could climb it with just a little ingenuity.
So there was only one Antidote inside.
Maeng Ryeongji took it right away, she said.
The idea came from the instructor’s disciple, but since Maeng Ryeongji was the one who moved the rock, climbed up, and retrieved it, there was no reason to defer.
“Ugh… a mechanical trap that shoots spears? I would’ve d-died for sure. Thank goodness it was placed somewhere not too difficult.”
Amwol Hall, where So Un went, apparently had some kind of mechanism installed as well.
But there weren’t any particular dangers there. When Gu Won-ui hit the fourth target precisely with a Hidden Projectile, the pouch flew out immediately.
There were two Antidotes inside, and Gu Won-ui arbitrarily excluded a branch line of the Moyong Clan and distributed the Antidotes to So Un and the Cheongseong-pa disciple.
“Everyone secured their share. That’s good.”
Of course, even if someone hadn’t secured their share, I wouldn’t have given out the reserves or the auction stock.
If the children I’d grown close to before Entry hadn’t obtained theirs, I would’ve felt a bit uncomfortable—but they all managed to get an Antidote one way or another.
‘Looks like he found it without much trouble too.’
Seeing Eun Hyeon standing silently at an ambiguous distance, it seemed he’d had no problem detoxifying the Mountain Poison.
“Fifty-six, fifty-seven… we’re all here. Everyone head to your dormitories!”
Peng Zhonglie called out after confirming the headcount of the chattering students.
Is the Entry ceremony over then?
“Those are the dormitories, right?”
I pointed at the flags on the mountain and asked Maeng Ryeongji.
But before Maeng Ryeongji could answer, Peng Zhonglie provided the explanation.
“Those of you who received recommendations from the Five Great Families go to Tianming Hall! Those carrying tokens from the Nine Sects and One Alliance go to Dizhen Hall!”
Peng Zhonglie, himself a member of the Habet Peng Clan, called out with unmistakable pride in his voice.
Ah, so there are multiple dormitories?
“And the rest of you all go to Renben Hall. That’s all!”
Classifying people so openly by these criteria?
The phrase “the rest of you” left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Peng Zhonglie had been looking at the children who’d entered the Academy through the test—the ones who’d sat at the same table as us earlier.
“Oh.”
Then he gave a special instruction to Eun Hyeon, who was standing ambiguously among them.
“You go to Dizhen Hall.”
For a moment I thought our eyes had met.
“Yes.”
He simply nodded without a word.
So they prioritize origin over tokens, it seems.
“Seol Suyeo! Let’s go!”
Maeng Ryeongji linked her arm through mine.
The students who’d recovered their Inner Energy all climbed the mountain with a flourish, deliberately using their Lightness Skill.
Surviving as the Doomed Young Lady of Beihei Binggong (Serialized)
Author │ Sasangnoreu
Publisher │ Kim Joo-hyung
Published by │ J Plus Media Co., Ltd.
Marketing │ Han Jae-hyeok
Address │ 401, 11 Digital-ro 33-gil, Guro-gu, Seoul (Guro-dong, Ace Techno Tower 8th)
Email │ [email protected]
Website │ www.jayplemedia.com
ⓒ Sasangnoreu 2026
※This work is published by J Plus Media Co., Ltd. in accordance with a contract with the copyright holder. The contents may not be used in any form or by any means without the permission of the company and author.
Violation of this may result in criminal and civil legal liability.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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