Surviving as the Terminally Ill Young Lady of the North Sea Ice Palace - Chapter 39

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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 39
“…Leaving the Martial Arts School grounds?”
“Ha, yeah. A fellow like me can’t sit still inside the school, you see.”
I was startled.
Five days after enrolling, and already scouting escape routes? Gu Won-ui was quite the go-getter, wasn’t he?
There’s no rule against stealing materials from the dining hall, but the prohibition on unauthorized entry and exit was crystal clear.
High walls and mountains ringed the school, and the main gate had been sealed shut since the day we were admitted.
“I’ll come with you.”
I had to cultivate this sort of connection, no matter what.
Once we became friendly, I could access information and supplies nowhere else available.
For someone like me, who needed to fix the Gu-eum Jeol-maek, it was worth its weight in gold.
“Huh? So-un, you too?”
Gu Won-ui looked taken aback.
But an event like this in the dead of night was an extraordinary opportunity.
“I won’t be in your way, will I?”
He rolled his eyes for a moment, but quickly made up his mind.
“All right. But you have to keep this absolutely secret, understand?”
“Of course.”
Right, naturally we had to stay quiet. Shh.
Would I really run to a teacher and snitch on my classmate’s unauthorized outing for no gain?
I brought my index finger to my lips to signal I’d keep the secret.
Whoosh!
But Gu Won-ui suddenly flinched and stepped back.
“Ugh, sorry. I thought you were using Finger Gesture Language.”
“…Why would I use hand signs on you?”
“Ha.”
Ah, was that not a gesture used in the martial world?
Given the hour we’d ventured out, Gu Won-ui was wound tight with nerves.
I’d never even used hand signs around Gu Won-ui before, and certainly not with anyone like Eun-hyeon.
Anyway, I’d promised Maeng Ryeong-ji I’d keep it secret too.
Gu Won-ui, somewhat embarrassed, accepted me as a partner.
At first I thought we’d be wandering around and then finding a way together.
But he strode forward without hesitation in one direction.
“Weren’t we supposed to go around the mountain and slip out?”
“That’d take all night. There’s wall for miles that way. But with your Lightness Skill, you might slip out and back quick, huh?”
“My Lightness Skill is perfectly ordinary.”
Instead of going over the mountain, past the cave side, and out through where there was no wall.
We actually descended toward the flat ground where the school buildings stood.
“Please don’t tell me we’re jumping this?”
He stopped in front of the wall.
It towered more than five times my height—solid as a fortress wall.
The height was surely calculated to account for the Lightness Skill of every Student martial artist.
“No. We’re going under it.”
“…”
So when he cleared away the camouflage—
Gu Won-ui moved aside the grass mounds and roots he’d laid as cover.
Beneath the wall was an old-fashioned hole, dug straight under the earth.
“You didn’t dig this in five days alone…”
“Right, even I couldn’t manage that. One of the senior students dug it and I just got lucky finding it. Like an innkeeper with no heir suddenly leaving the waitstaff everything—that kind of fortune.”
“That’s remarkable.”
Now that’s a stroke of luck.
Gu Won-ui certainly seemed to have explored the school thoroughly.
But even if he’d been searching around the wall, he’d need to have known beforehand that a hole existed somewhere.
I wondered if he had a senior acquaintance like Maeng Ryeong-ji.
“Well, escape!”
This wasn’t a magical academy, so there’d be no barrier spells.
I squeezed through the hole and slipped out easily.
Gu Won-ui followed and pulled the grass mound back over as cover.
“Are we heading to Luoyang now?”
The food I’d shared with Baek Ung Dae-ju before admission came drifting back to mind.
It hadn’t even been days, yet it felt like a memory from another life.
“No. Luoyang is dangerous. The city gates are sealed right now, and even if you somehow managed to slip in, it’s completely under the Magistrate’s control—you’d be caught immediately.”
Ah, so he did have a knowledgeable senior after all.
Gu Won-ui probably wouldn’t be conducting patrols himself just yet, but Martial Alliance warriors did report Martial Arts School students, and
there was always the possibility of running into a senior martial artist at an inn.
“A city as large as Luoyang is managed that strictly?”
I had no reason to risk being discovered—no compelling desire to reach Luoyang specifically.
So I told him I’d follow quietly wherever he led.
“Under the protection of Venerable Master Seon-gak, Luoyang is said to be the safest city in all the Central Plains. It means the Magistrate’s gaze reaches into every corner, doesn’t it?”
I vaguely recalled hearing from Baek Ung Dae-ju that absolutely no fighting was permitted within Luoyang’s walls.
When he’d said the security was good, it turned out the Magistrate took special care to oversee the Martial Arts School courtyard in particular.
“I see. So you have another plan instead?”
I asked, curious what he intended if we couldn’t enter Luoyang after coming all this way.
Gu Won-ui nodded.
“I do. There’s a village called Seokgyochon to the southwest of Luoyang. I know a waitstaff member at an inn there—I was originally planning to stop by, eat quickly, and leave.”
He even had a restaurant he knew?
Gu Won-ui said that if I wanted to go to Luoyang instead, it would be fine to part ways here.
“Good. Let’s head there then!”
I had no reason to risk being discovered—no compelling desire to reach Luoyang specifically.
So I told him I’d follow quietly wherever he led.
“By the way, you wouldn’t happen to have an extra Bamboo Hat, would you? I’d like to cover my face too if possible.”
“…Tch, here, wear this. Your appearance stands out far more.”
Gu Won-ui readily agreed to my company and even gave up his Bamboo Hat.
I hadn’t meant to take it from him, but since he offered, I accepted it gratefully.
I pressed the Bamboo Hat down so my eye color wouldn’t be visible,
then tied up my hair and tucked it into the Long Robe, buttoning all the way to my neck.
The Bamboo Hat didn’t hide all of my silver hair, but in the darkness, it seemed like it wouldn’t draw too much attention.
“It’s best not to speak if you can help it.”
“Understood.”
My voice still sounded rather young, which was another concern.
A young martial artist wandering near Luoyang in the dead of night—anyone would assume I was a Student from the Martial Arts School.
I resolved to be thorough in every precaution.
Once I finished preparing, Gu Won-ui took the lead and rushed toward the village he knew.
* * *
I’d thought “Seokgyochon” meant it would be a small hamlet, but
it was actually one of the larger villages we’d passed through on our journey from Beihai down to Luoyang.
Then again, an inn that stays open late into the night would need a certain level of population to sustain itself.
“Damn it, spit! You worthless bastard…! What about the spilled drink?”
“You slammed your own head on the table and now you’re spouting nonsense? If you’re drunk, just sleep it off quietly!”
“You little punk…! I ought to bite off your fingers and use them as a side dish!”
And this place was, without question, the roughest city of all the villages I’d visited with Baek Ung Dae-ju.
Coming straight from the relatively safe confines of the Martial Arts School—barring encounters with the Magistrate, stone caves, and combat lessons—it felt like I’d been thrown into the wilderness.
“What is this place? A Heterodox Sect den?”
I carefully picked my way past the martial artists, confirmed the surrounding area was empty, and whispered to Gu Won-ui.
Was this place unusually dangerous?
Or did the martial world always look like this, and had Baek Ung Dae-ju simply scouted ahead and planned our route to pass through only the safer villages?
“It’s not that. Those fellows are Heterodox Sect martial artists, sure enough. Since they have business in Luoyang but can’t get in, they come to this village looking for someone to do jobs for them instead.”
Can’t get into Luoyang?
When I went before, the checkpoint didn’t seem nearly so strict.
Surely they’re not wanted criminals?
“They put on a tough show and sometimes brawls break out, but they all have their own business to attend to, so they don’t cause serious trouble. As long as we don’t provoke them, they won’t start anything with us either.”
“I see.”
Besides, Gu Won-ui’s friend was working as waitstaff at an inn in this very village,
and after all, people lived everywhere.
I nodded in agreement.
“There it is.”
Having been here many times before, Gu Won-ui pushed open the inn door without hesitation.
‘Hm?’
Just walking the streets, I’d worried we’d come to a dangerous place,
but the atmosphere inside the inn Gu Won-ui led me to was surprisingly calm.
Of course, the people inside drinking or eating also appeared to be martial artists.
While I couldn’t pinpoint their exact cultivation level, they felt stronger than those street brawlers I’d seen cursing and fighting earlier.
Yet they ate quietly, and even when calling the waitstaff to order, they spoke in hushed, measured tones.
‘If I use a code phrase here, does it connect me straight to a Hao-mun executive?’
Gu Won-ui and I took a corner table and sat down.
“Anything you can’t eat?”
Since the gap between our table and the next wasn’t far, I shook my head without opening my mouth.
We’d arranged beforehand not to speak, so Gu Won-ui ordered a reasonable selection.
“One plate of Beef Slices and two bowls of Mixed Noodles, please. That’s the best they have.”
“Won-ui? And the person next to you is…?”
“Just someone I met on the way. He’s just having a meal before he leaves.”
Gu Won-ui didn’t mention that I was a Student at the Martial Arts School, glossing over it instead.
The waitstaff asked nothing further and headed to the kitchen to place the order.
Shortly after, the food arrived quickly.
‘This tastes amazing!’
Just as Gu Won-ui had promised, the Beef Slices were truly delicious.
Soft beef broth steeped in every fiber, the meat melted gently on my tongue.
Spices I’d never encountered at the Martial Arts School or even in Beihai clung to my nose and lips.
‘I’m in heaven…!’
I’d thought the Grain-free Pills weren’t bad, but now that real food was finally in my mouth after days of those alone, my heart melted along with it.
Of course, So-un had made decent hotpot even in those rough conditions.
But wild boar and beef are fundamentally different.
No matter how well they were prepared, without proper seasonings, the smell couldn’t be completely masked.
“If I get the chance, I’ll come back in five days—could you set aside some ginger, garlic, and green onions? If you can, salt too, and… dried red peppers if possible.”
Ah, we think exactly alike!
Gu Won-ui must have had the same thought, for he called over the familiar waitstaff member and pressed coins into his hand.
“I think we can get everything except the salt right now. Why do you need these? Does the Martial Arts School’s food lack seasoning?”
“…It’s more or less the same.”
“I’ll have to ask about the peppers. Come with me—Wang Suk-su is here.”
“Let’s go.”
Wow, you know Wang Suk-su too?
Could this be a chance to get even more ingredients and seasonings?
Gu Won-ui gave me a look saying he’d be away for a moment, and I nodded to say he could stay as long as needed.
Should I order one more?
Before the two of them headed to the kitchen, I stopped the waitstaff for a moment.
I counted out coins and placed them on the table.
I pointed silently with my finger to the Beef Slices once.
Then I held up my index finger in the air, communicating my intention without words.
“Ah, yes. Sir. Would you like one more order of Beef Slices?”
Sir?
I pressed down my Bamboo Hat and nodded again.
Unlike Gu Won-ui, who’d made a fuss about using Finger Gesture Language, this man understood the order clearly.
‘And the Mixed Noodles tastes good too.’
Shortly after, the additional order of Beef Slices arrived.
It came with such speed I wondered if it had been prepared beforehand, but the taste was excellent, and given that I’d need to return to the Martial Arts School soon, nothing could have been better.
I made sure to remember the route back so that the next time I snuck out of the Martial Arts School, I could come here again.
I was in a deeply satisfied mood as I raised my chopsticks toward the newly arrived food.
Crash!
But in that moment.
A man shoved the tavern door open violently, as if commanding everyone’s attention.
“Everyone get out! From now on, I, Heuk Ryeong-geom, am taking over this tavern!”
He claimed outright that he was leasing the entire establishment for himself.
Surviving as the Beihai Ice Palace’s Time-Limited Young Mistress (Serial)
Author │ Sahyang Noru
Publisher │ Kim Ju-hyung
Published by │ J Plus Media Co., Ltd.
Marketing │ Han Jae-hyuk
Address │ 401, Ace Techno Tower 8th, 11 Digital-ro 33-gil, Guro-gu, Seoul (Guro-dong)
Email │ [email protected]
Website │ www.jayplemedia.com
© Sasang Noru 2026
※This work is published by J2 Media Co., Ltd. in accordance with a contract with the copyright holder. The content may not be used in any form or by any means without permission from the company and the 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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