Surviving as the Terminally Ill Young Lady of the North Sea Ice Palace - Chapter 40

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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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Episode 40
What the hell—is this guy insane?
Barging in out of nowhere, throwing his weight around like that?
In my past life, I’d have called the police for drunk and disorderly conduct.
Back in Buk-hae, I’d have simply beaten him senseless and taught him proper courtesy for when he visits Ju-ru next time.
‘But… he does seem stronger than me, doesn’t he?’
Still, this is the Murim—a world where the strong devour the weak.
The man in black robes carried an unsettling aura, and the temperature seemed to drop several degrees in his vicinity alone.
Compared to this man, those street thugs who’d been running their mouths moments ago seemed like nothing but local punks.
……
It wasn’t just me who felt it; the moment the man in black appeared, silence fell over Ju-ru.
If he were merely some mid-tier martial artist with a modest local reputation, someone would’ve shouted out his byeol-ho by now.
Could he be a master from one of the unorthodox sects—someone whose name mustn’t be spoken carelessly?
Of course, it was possible there simply were no gossips in this establishment, but in situations like this, it was far safer to assume he was an exceptionally strong warrior who disliked unnecessary attention than to blunder in like a third-rate extra and hasten one’s own demise.
‘Forget the oxtail noodles. Let’s get out of here.’
Even if the man in black wasn’t quite that formidable.
I’d slipped away from the academy without permission.
If my voice revealed I was a student, or if my bamboo hat slipped and exposed my face, it would be catastrophic.
My primary objective in life right now was survival.
And maintaining a model student image was crucial for long-term survival.
‘Where is Won-ui?’
He’d gone to the kitchen to fetch seasonings.
Either his conversation with the cook was taking longer than expected, or he hadn’t returned yet.
Since I was already driving everyone out anyway, perhaps we could meet outside?
Swish.
Still, wanting to relay at least a simple message, I rose from my chair and briefly caught the collar of Jeom-so, the one who’d brought the oxtail noodles.
He wasn’t panicking or fleeing in confusion, so he probably intended to leave after me.
‘Tell Won-ui—’
I pointed toward the kitchen direction where Won-ui had disappeared.
‘Tell him I’ve gone ahead.’
I gestured to myself once, then toward the exit.
The boy had understood the oxtail noodle order well enough earlier, so he should grasp this easily.
“U-uh, uh, uh……”
But for some reason, he trembled with fear, his lips merely quivering.
Hm? What’s wrong?
As I glanced around, everyone in Ju-ru stared at me with gaping mouths.
……
Even the man in black, who’d just declared he was driving out all the guests, had tension written across his face.
‘Why are they acting like that? Didn’t he tell me to leave?’
Bewildered, I walked straight toward the exit.
The man in black stepped aside.
Since he’d been blocking the door, I assumed he was simply clearing the way.
‘Very well, I’ll be on my way. Please, conduct your business.’
So I raised my right hand slightly to signal I wouldn’t interfere.
“Ha! It seems I’ve been secluded from the martial world too long. Drawing a blade at a master—what audacity!”
Astoundingly, the man in black fixed his gaze directly on me and growled.
What is he talking about? I didn’t draw anything.
Confused, I felt around the hilts of both swords with my right hand.
Both were properly sheathed.
“You dare challenge Heukyeong Geom?”
Someone broke the silence in alarm after I’d merely paused to check.
“Who is this person?”
“Never seen him before… Does he have three lives to spare?”
When one voice spoke the man in black’s byeol-ho aloud, the entire establishment stirred.
Heukyeong Geom—quite an impressive byeol-ho for this man.
‘But I wasn’t actually planning to fight…’
at all.
Whiiiing!
The man in black suddenly drew his blade and swept it horizontally across.
…?!
I instinctively drew the sword I was already gripping and blocked the strike.
A sharp metallic ring.
Red dust swirled in the air.
‘What the—? Is he insane?!’
Clang!
The sound was sharp, but there was considerable Nei-gong force behind Heukyeong Geom’s blade.
It was fortunate I already had my sword in hand.
If I hadn’t drawn and blocked in that instant, my body would have been cleaved clean in two.
“A mere stripling,” he sneered.
He gauged my Nei-gong and mocked me in the same breath.
Is this what the Murim really is?
How could someone so readily attempt to kill without the slightest hesitation?
This was different from the eerie menace I’d felt from Hwa Mu-yang.
I’d thought I’d steeled myself adequately before leaving Buk-hae, but gooseflesh prickled across my skin.
“I opened an escape for you, yet you hasten toward death!”
“……?!”
What was he talking about?
I’d only meant to follow the path he’d opened and leave.
‘Wait—does he think I stood up to fight?’
Curse it. Of all the rotten luck, I’d been the first to rise.
I should have waited for the others to go first.
No, that doesn’t make sense. Someone has to be first out the door.
I’d only done as instructed—stood at the exit because I couldn’t help it, walked out of pure necessity—and he’d wildly misinterpreted my actions as a challenge. What was I supposed to do?
‘I was only trying to leave.’
I raised my hand to clarify that I’d only meant to exit through that door.
I pointed toward it with my fingers.
Heukyeong Geom’s stance suddenly lowered, and his brow furrowed.
“How dare a whelp command me!”
He didn’t understand at all.
When had I ever issued a command?
He’d apparently mistaken my gesture at the door as an order for him to leave, and the frustration was maddening.
“…….”
I hesitated.
Should I simply shout, ‘I have no intention of fighting a master swordsman! I only meant to exit through the door!’?
I didn’t want my status as a student of Cheon-mu Academy to come to light if I could help it, but surely my life mattered more.
Yet there was no guarantee that explaining myself would make him let me go.
If a young girl’s voice came from someone who’d tried to kill me, he might become curious about my face and reach to pull off my Bamboo Hat.
That would only complicate matters far worse than they already were.
‘I’ll just brush past him and run.’
We’d only traded a single strike, yet he didn’t strike me as an overwhelmingly superior foe.
He might be stronger than me, but he seemed far weaker than the master swordsmen or Hwa Mu-yang.
The fact that Heukyeong Geom hadn’t dared press the attack suggested he’d lost his certainty of a perfect victory in that single exchange.
If I fled now, wouldn’t he simply laugh at me for running away?
Besides, he’d originally meant to let the others pass, so he must have business in this Ju-ru as well.
I took a step forward.
But contrary to my expectations—
The moment my foot touched the ground, Heukyeong Geom launched an aggressive counterattack.
“Hyah!”
He roared and unleashed tremendous Nei-gong at incredible speed.
‘Damn!’
I jolted in surprise and snapped my head to the side.
This madman was deliberately targeting vital points—the kind that meant instant death if struck.
His blade grazed past my head, and my hair tie snapped clean away.
The moment relief washed over me at the narrow miss—
My bound hair came undone, and luminous silver strands cascaded down.
“Silver hair?”
Someone murmured in the darkness.
Curse my hair!
I’d hidden it well enough beneath my Long Robe, and outside Ju-ru the darkness had concealed it adequately.
But inside, there was light enough to make out the color.
“……An old woman, perhaps?”
So I’d been worried they might discover I was from outside the Murim.
Fortunately, people thought of an elderly person sooner than a foreigner from Buk-hae.
‘Ugh, really. I need to finish this and get out.’
I simply triggered a chain-reaction explosion using the Jeokjin Honyang-gong, startling Heukyeong Geom, then hastily swung my blade with the intention of fleeing in the chaos.
If I used Bing-gong, my identity would be exposed immediately.
And with only a thread of Nei-gong barely accumulated, my Jeong-gi-gong was still too weak to match him properly.
Hwaaak!
In that instant as my blade cut through the air, an inexplicable euphoria surged through me.
As if the martial art and the sword were resonating in harmony.
It felt as though I heard a low, thrumming hum.
Whoosh—
But something was strange about the sound of blade striking blade.
Normally there should be a sharp ‘ting!’ or ‘clang!’ with the weight transmitted through my arms, and when I recalled the sensation from using Jeokjin Honyang-gong, there could be explosive collisions with the feel of a ‘bang!’ or ‘boom!’
Yet through neither touch nor sound—
I felt only the sensation of something crumbling lifelessly.
“……?”
That explosive Yang-qi didn’t vanish somewhere.
The turbid Nei-gong channeled straight through my blade and split Heukyeong Geom’s sword in two.
Crack.
In the space where red dust scattered,
the severed portion of the blade fell to the ground.
“An extraordinary master……!”
“B-but to subdue Heukyeong Geom in a single stroke!”
Living as the Short-Lived Young Mistress of Buk-hae Bing-gung (Serialized)
Author │ Sahyang Noru
Publisher │ Kim Ju-hyeong
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 8)
Email │ [email protected]
Website │ www.jayplemedia.com
ⓒ Sahyang Noru 2026
※This work is published by J Plus Media Co., Ltd. under contract with the copyright holder. No part of this work may be used in any form or by any means without permission from the publisher and author.
Violation of this provision may result in criminal and civil 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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