Surviving as the Terminally Ill Young Lady of the North Sea Ice Palace - Chapter 79

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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 79
Since we’d agreed to spend our free time scattered about, I decided to quickly buy some snacks and head back.
I should pick up something to share with my friends who didn’t manage to enroll in the course.
I’d grab food for my classmates from Inbon Hall, including Maeng Ryeong Ji, and perhaps if I bought something for Namgung Ah Young, who’d been so eager to attend this particular lesson, she’d be delighted?
Though the Academy recommended Grain-Avoidance Pills, at least they didn’t ruthlessly confiscate outside food, for which I was grateful.
‘Oh, Eun Hyun liked Dang Ho Ro, didn’t he?’
As it happened, I spotted the same Dang Ho Ro stall I’d seen before.
Last time had been the day of a performance at the inn, so the area was crowded; today, it was quiet.
“Five skewers of Dang Ho Ro, please.”
“Thank you so much!”
Someone back at the Academy would eat them, surely?
I went ahead and ordered generously.
The vendor wrapped five skewers of Dang Ho Ro in oiled paper and handed them over; I produced a silver currency note.
“Oh my, silver currency? But I don’t have enough change for such a large amount.”
The vendor grew visibly flustered at the sight of it.
Wait—he wouldn’t accept silver currency at all?
I rummaged through my purse, but unfortunately had less than ten copper coins.
Ah, that’s right—silver currency is quite a high denomination.
Since one tael of silver equaled a thousand copper coins, it made sense I wouldn’t have enough to make change.
I’d originally known that street transactions used copper coins, and I usually carried some.
But when So Un had mentioned going to buy cooking tools earlier, I’d added a hundred coins for her to use, leaving me without adequate change.
“Um… just a moment. Maybe I can find somewhere to—”
I looked around uncertainly.
But the fruit stall I’d originally intended to visit was nowhere to be seen, nor could I spot any other expensive item worth purchasing.
If I went into the inn just to change money, wouldn’t they be annoyed?
“Here—fifteen copper coins.”
Just then, someone stepped in and pressed exactly the right amount of change into my hand.
I turned to see a young man with an unusually tall frame but a slender build, his face pale as snow.
Dressed in ornate silk robes and wearing earrings besides, he gave off the distinct aura of a wealthy family’s idle son.
“Thank you so much!”
Before I could even speak, the vendor quickly accepted the coins.
I picked up the Dang Ho Ro the vendor had wrapped and bowed to the stranger.
“Thank you for helping me out. I’ll get you the change right away.”
“No need. Think of it as a gift for a lovely young lady.”
I’d said I’d get the change immediately, but the man waved it off with a slight smile.
He was the sort of man you’d never see in Buk Hae and rarely encountered at Cheonmu Academy—something about him felt refreshingly different.
In any case, he clearly had money to spare, so I accepted without hesitation.
“Then I’ll enjoy these.”
The man glanced briefly at my sword.
“You like Dang Ho Ro?”
“Well… not particularly.”
“Then why did you buy five?”
“A friend is fond of them.”
He struck up a friendly conversation and introduced himself.
His name was Juk Sa.
He was the heir to quite a substantial Merchant Guild with roots in Yangzhou and had come to Luoyang partly to broaden his horizons and partly for leisure.
Ah, so he really was a young master from a wealthy family.
“I’m Seol Su Ryeo of Buk Hae Bing Palace.”
I revealed my status in turn.
“Oh! So you’re a martial artist after all?”
He brightened visibly and seemed pleased.
He’d kept glancing at my sword—clearly he had a keen interest in martial affairs.
“Yes, I’m a student at Cheonmu Academy. Please, speak informally with me. I’m still quite young.”
True, I was born at Buk Hae Bing Palace and learned martial arts naturally.
Had I been born into an ordinary family in the Central Plains, I suspect I’d have harbored romantic illusions about martial arts.
“Really? Is that all right?”
Sensing he wanted to continue our conversation, I asked what his plans were.
He said he’d come out to the Luoyang marketplace as part of learning the merchant trade.
In short, he had plenty of time on his hands.
“Besides Dang Ho Ro, is there anything else you wanted to buy?”
“I wanted to see if we could buy some fruit.”
“Ah, I see. There should still be fruit from last autumn’s harvest that’s been stored. Would you like me to help you pick out some good ones? I’m a merchant by trade, so I do know how to spot quality goods.”
“Oh, that would be wonderful.”
Right, of course—I’d need to pick out decent fruit carefully.
In my past life, the fruit at the supermarket was generally fresh enough.
But I had no confidence in selecting good pieces from fruit that had been stored in a cellar for months, so I accepted his offer readily.
Together, we decided to walk through the marketplace and search for a fruit vendor.
“By the way, Cheonmu Academy… Is your master still there?”
I’d thought he wanted to talk about martial arts matters.
But Juk Sa brought up an unexpected name.
“Yes, that’s right. He’s my master. Do you know him?”
I asked, surprised.
“Yes. We had some connection when we were young.”
Juk Sa nodded, his smile tinged with something bittersweet.
Gwak Do Cheon wandered the Central Plains, and whenever he spotted talent like So Un, he brought them to Cheonmu Academy.
Perhaps Juk Sa had crossed paths with him that way, in childhood.
“Did your master suggest you come to Cheonmu Academy as well?”
With that thought, I began to notice certain qualities of a martial artist in Juk Sa.
When he brushed his hair back, his arms were pale and slender.
But his posture and the way he walked had the bearing of a martial artist.
The way he centered his weight was precise—was that how I’d describe it?
His spine was straight, his torso steady, yet his steps were light.
Could he have learned Lightness Skill separately?
“He mentioned Cheonmu Academy, but… *cough*, as you can see, my body is too weak. I wasn’t strong enough to learn martial arts.”
But he shook his head, saying he couldn’t learn martial arts.
Goodness, was his pale, gaunt appearance really just from not going outside much?
Being someone who had suffered from illness with no clear cause in childhood myself, and who still lived with constant worry even now,
I felt a sudden kinship with him.
“Are you all right now? Do you have some serious illness?”
“Well, not quite that serious. I just had a lot of minor ailments when I was young. If I pushed myself even a little, I’d spike a fever. Even now… I’m not exactly healthy.”
He said he’d wanted to become a martial artist too, but his body wouldn’t cooperate, and he regretted it deeply.
I suppose so. With all his money, even as a lay disciple somewhere, he probably could’ve become stronger than average. It was a shame.
“Well, once your Martial Achievement reaches a certain level, you stop suffering from minor ailments. But if even light training was difficult, there’s nothing to be done about it.”
“Ha, that didn’t work out for me. My body was so uncooperative that when I was young, I even resented the world.”
“I understand completely. My body doesn’t cooperate either, so it’s been difficult.”
Though our situations differed somewhat,
I too suffered because my Internal Energy would grow excessively with even slight training, threatening my life with Yin-Cold Energy.
So I truly empathized with the helplessness of a body that wouldn’t obey.
“…Is it that you can’t live up to your father’s expectations?”
“Something like that.”
Juk Sa tilted his head slightly.
The situation he was imagining was likely quite different from my reality.
But since I couldn’t speak of the Nine Yin Severed Meridian anyway, I answered vaguely that it was similar.
My father did hope for me to be healthy, so it wasn’t entirely a lie either, I suppose.
“Well, it’s unfortunate when things don’t work out, but there’s no help for it. Everyone has different talents, after all.”
If we’re born this way, we have to live with what we’re given. What else could we do?
Even the Nine Yin Severed Meridian wasn’t entirely without its advantages.
Juk Sa may not have become a martial artist, but being born as the heir to the Merchant Guild might have been the better blessing.
“…You’re right. I’ll just try my best to develop whatever meager talents I do have.”
Juk Sa nodded, his lips curving into a gentle smile.
He meant that when he returned to Yangzhou, he would study hard as a merchant.
“Phew, the sun is awfully hot. Would it be all right to rest in the shade for a moment?”
“Of course.”
Goodness, it wasn’t even midsummer, but his body must be in quite poor condition.
If he couldn’t even stand through this, martial arts training was absolutely out of the question.
I pointed to a tree a little away from the crowded marketplace.
He went over quickly, leaned against the tree, and fanned himself with his hand fan for quite a while.
His recovery was fairly quick, though.
His slightly quickened breathing soon returned to normal.
He wiped away the cold sweat and then glanced at my sword, which he’d been stealing looks at for a while.
“But your sword looks quite unusual. If you don’t mind, could you show it to me?”
So she’d been curious about it all along.
Well, of course.
Since we’d come to understand each other’s regrets, I readily unbuckled the sword and handed it over, sheath and all.
“By all means.”
Surviving as the Young Lady of Buk Hae Bing Palace with a Limited Lifespan (Serialized)
Author │ Sa Hyang Noru
Publisher │ Kim Ju Hyung
Published by │ J Plus Media Co., Ltd.
Marketing │ Han Jae Hyuk
Address │ 401, 11 Digital-ro 33-gil, Guro-gu, Seoul (Guro-dong, Ace Techno Tower 8)
Email │ [email protected]
Homepage │ www.jayplemedia.com
© Sa Hyang 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 manner without permission from the publisher 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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