Surviving as the Terminally Ill Young Lady of the North Sea Ice Palace - Chapter 42

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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 42
No, I wouldn’t even listen to this if I didn’t have a terminal condition.
Who in the world actually wants to memorize herbal remedies? Even physicians study them reluctantly, don’t they?
But Yak Seon was the person with the highest chance of curing my Nine Yin Severed Meridians in all the world.
With a terminal condition hanging over my life, I’d been asking merchants about renowned physicians ever since my time in the Northern Sea.
The Three Greatest Physicians Under Heaven.
Yak Seon, Gwi Ui, and Baek Ui Jin In.
Of these three, only Baek Ui Jin In was truly a physician in the active sense, actually treating patients.
He could be found if one sought him out, but regrettably he couldn’t completely cure my Severed Meridian Syndrome.
And Gwi Ui, with such a suspicious alias, was… how to put it… like a mad scientist who’d gone rogue.
I heard he’d been lately obsessed with some strange sorcery or other.
Of these three, the one ranked highest was undoubtedly Yak Seon.
There was no illness he couldn’t heal under heaven, and no medicine he didn’t know of in all things—or so they said.
Even if Yeom Ra drew a red line across the registry of the dead, if Yak Seon wouldn’t permit death, the scattered souls would be dragged back down into flesh, or so the stories went.
‘The tales must be exaggerated from his absence these past decades, certainly…’
Yet looking even at the Spirit Medicines sold in the Medicine Hall, it was plain they far exceeded the scope of an ordinary physician.
For some reason or grievance, he was kept under the governor’s protection at Cheon Mu Academy and couldn’t step foot outside—unreachable to the world at large. Yet inside the Academy itself, one could easily find him if one went to the Medicine Hall.
When I’d casually mentioned my Severed Meridian Syndrome the previous time, he’d spoken as if he might be able to find a method.
‘First, I need to get close to him.’
I would attend his lectures and serve him diligently as my teacher.
I would gain his goodwill as one human to another.
When we’d grown much closer, if I told him I had Nine Yin Severed Meridians… wouldn’t he throw himself into research, if only out of reluctance to see me die?
“You’re really going to take this?”
“There’s a child in the Northern Sea I want to help treat.”
I gave Maeng Yeong Ji and So Un the same excuse I’d offered Yak Seon.
“Ah.”
“I see…! You’re truly remarkable, miss!”
Both Maeng Yeong Ji and So Un accepted it.
They might have questioned why I needed to study it directly myself.
But the Northern Sea was so insular that they seemed to take it for granted.
I wrote my name under the Herbal Studies lecture description as well.
Just as So Un had enrolled in the Organ Needle Technique.
No other student showed any interest, so the enrollment column sat blank and white.
* * *
After quickly reviewing the full list, it was time to head to morning classes.
Since we could apparently apply or change courses for five days, I thought I might deliberate once more.
But needing to take at least ten elective courses by graduation, and with most students apparently taking two or so per semester, I suspected my selections would end up being finalized just as they were.
“Advanced Internal Cultivation isn’t something you select yourselves. In your first semester, you’ll learn the Orthodox Qi Technique during this period, and from next semester onward, you’ll continue taking it as long as needed.”
The morning class was Basic Internal Cultivation, and Heo Gong briefly explained the curriculum to students curious about Advanced Internal Cultivation.
Ah, I need to stick with the internal cultivation sequence all the way through.
Starting next semester, I’ll need to take Advanced Internal Cultivation right up until I master the Cheon Mu Divine Technique.
“Today, continuing from last time, you’ll each practice your Qi Circulation. Find space and sit apart from one another.”
“Should we all speak here?”
“Ha, I’ll stand guard over all of you, so don’t worry—focus on your energy.”
I sat in cross-legged position and practiced drawing in, circulating, and storing energy through my Conception and Governing Vessels.
I could feel the energy accumulating, bit by bit.
Glancing slightly to the side, So Un seemed to be managing quite well too.
Last time she looked like she couldn’t grasp it at all—was it because she didn’t know the meridian node names and couldn’t follow along?
After doing that coloring exercise and practicing separately, she seemed to have already grasped the knack of it.
‘She’s not lacking in talent, it seems.’
There seemed no need to help her separately, so I continued my own Qi Circulation during the time Heo Gong had arranged,
and worked through the fatigue accumulated from losing sleep on the previous day’s outing.
“You’ve all seen the students I’ve personally recommended for my own lectures, yes? Of course, any student not on the list is welcome to apply!”
The afternoon was assigned to Basic External Cultivation, so I put on the Iron Ring again and ran with determination.
Paeng Jung Geol also ran alongside the students, explaining the Blade Path and Strong Body classes he was teaching.
The martial instructors coming into the required courses for new students could promote their classes like this, so I suspected their elective courses would be quite popular.
“I noticed my name was on the list. Do you believe I should focus my efforts more on the achievement of external cultivation, Master?”
“Yes. One might think it incompatible with the Hwasan sword style, but it isn’t. Strength is the very foundation of martial arts itself. All techniques—swordplay, bladework, and so forth—exist to compensate for insufficient power. You possess the talent to wield exceptional physical strength in its raw form.”
Myeong Seong asked Paeng Jung Geol a separate question.
I thought the same—he was quite strong, and the Ring Sword and Heavy Sword didn’t contradict each other.
After a moment’s deliberation, he decided to take both Strong Body and Ring Sword.
“You have no interest in my lessons?”
“Huff, huff…….”
Paeng Jung Geol, who’d been speaking with the students he’d marked down, approached me.
I answered between labored breaths.
“Isn’t my natural aptitude quite lacking, sir? I wish I’d been born with a body like Maeng Yeong Ji’s…… but I believe I must compensate for my shortcomings by honing my swordsmanship.”
“Bugjuk Seong Hwang was stronger than he appeared, though, hmm.”
No—my father wasn’t as heavily muscled as Paeng Jung Geol, but he was still reasonably tall and well-built, wasn’t he?
I, on the other hand, looked frail and sickly through and through—nothing like that.
Of course, there was the logic that the weaker one was, the more one needed to build their body.
Children who appeared even slightly below average were placed in separate remedial clubs.
The Strong Body lecture…… there was no official explanation, but wasn’t it meant to make those with evident aptitude for building strength and muscle even stronger?
Besides Maeng Yeong Ji, there wasn’t a single female student in the class, and among the male students too, he’d only recommended it to those with exceptional bone structure and physique.
So why did I covet it out of the blue?
“I am honored by your high regard, sir. Though I am insufficient to keep pace with your lessons, I shall deepen my dedication.”
In any case, Paeng Jung Geol was a good martial instructor who paid attention to each student’s training direction.
I smiled gently and gracefully declined his suggestion.
* * *
Today I skipped the ground exercises and went straight to the dormitory.
“Ugh…… to think I’d return to this wretched academy!”
“Let’s hurry to the dormitory and get some rest.”
The main gate had been open since morning.
During External Cultivation class, I’d seen our seniors arriving as we ran around the academy grounds.
“Surely the seniors aren’t trying to monopolize the dining hall?”
“Hmph, if they try, I’ll have words with them—the hard way.”
Since External Cultivation class finished a bit late, they should all have arrived by now.
In Bon Hall might become a touch less comfortable than when only my classmates were freely present.
“The dormitory supervisor this year is Muk Jin?”
“Wow, what fortune! Master Muk wouldn’t even show up, would he?”
“That’s right. When he took the position four years ago, he never came out of the stone cave even once!”
“Haha, the best!”
At least there was no one using the brazier and cauldron that Maeng Yeong Ji and So Un had worried about.
Ah, since I’d been attending the academy for over a year, everyone must have become eligible to eat at Jin Mi Hall.
I headed toward the lounge where I could hear the seniors’ voices.
“This year’s Three Talents Combat Tournament will be different! There are two prodigies from Saewoe Ogung among the new students!”
“We had no chance even when Maeng Ho Jin was here. They say his younger sister is coming, but I doubt she’ll be stronger than Maeng Ho Jin.”
“No, I saw her. Her build was quite impressive. And the daughter of the Northern Sea Ice Palace’s master…….”
“His daughter?”
“Really, truly beautiful, but just looking at her face makes you feel like you’d freeze over.”
“……what does that mean?”
“That her personality is cold? Or that she seems skilled in Ice Technique?”
“I can’t quite explain it, but she looked incredibly strong! Doesn’t seem like a mere student.”
Just as my ears started tingling, I realized they were talking about me and Maeng Yeong Ji.
“Think she’s stronger than So Un?”
“Yeah.”
“Wasn’t So Un ranked 12th in the last Ranking Martial Arts Tournament?”
“Nah, it was 17th.”
How did the seniors know of my existence?
I tilted my head and let my presence show.
“Huh!”
Before they could even open their mouths, one senior’s eyes met mine.
Those sprawled about carelessly all jolted upright at once.
“Miss…….”
“Ah, everyone! This is the daughter of the Northern Sea Ice Palace’s master!”
Remarkably, there was one senior among them whom I recognized.
None other than the academy assistant from Baek Am Building who’d exchanged my Entrance Pass before I’d enrolled.
“Welcome, miss! We’re glad you’ve come to In Bon Hall!”
Northern Sea Ice Palace Terminal Condition Young Lady Survival Log (Serialized)
Author │ Fragrant Deer
Publisher │ Kim Joo 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)
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ⓒ Sayang Noru 2026
※This work is published by J Plus Media Co., Ltd. in accordance with a contract with the copyright holder, and the contents may not be used in any form or by any means without permission from the company and author.
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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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