Surviving as the Terminally Ill Young Lady of the North Sea Ice Palace - Chapter 8

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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 8
His expression was blank, yet his gaze carried an unsettling coldness.
How could he have read my thoughts about him lacking friends? That shouldn’t have been possible.
“Tsk. A Daoist, my ass. Just a street thug.”
But in the very next moment, Maeng Ryeong-ji’s voice shot out from beside me.
As Eun Hyun brushed past us, Maeng Ryeong-ji had spoken with enough volume to ensure he heard every word of her mockery.
Oh, if her hands were cruel, they were cruel indeed.
Why point it out to his face?
It turned out that Eun Hyun hadn’t noticed me first—Maeng Ryeong-ji had been staring him down all along.
“Look at you, Hyang. This father of yours is simply, truly…!”
The Practice Martial Ground was loud enough with the cheers for successful candidates and the crowd eager to watch the continuing tests.
I’d hoped Eun Hyun either hadn’t heard Maeng Ryeong-ji’s words or would pretend not to.
But he stopped dead in his tracks.
He turned to face us directly, his gaze sweeping over me—no, over Maeng Ryeong-ji.
It was the same indifferent stare he’d aimed at his opponents during the Martial Combat Test, relentless and merciless.
Strange. There was something unsettling about being looked at like that by someone so handsome.
“What? What are you staring at?”
Maeng Ryeong-ji’s voice turned sharp.
You started this, not him!
“Cowards from Outside the Frontier.”
Eun Hyun’s words fell like a blade of ice.
A pause.
Cowards? Where did that come from?
It sounded like sarcasm, but I couldn’t quite grasp what he meant, so I only tilted my head in confusion.
Then he let out a soft scoff.
His gaze fixed on the tiger fur draped across Maeng Ryeong-ji’s shoulders.
Ah. So he’d been mocking her homeland.
The martial world of the Central Plains had long harbored quiet contempt for the forces of Outside the Frontier.
Many even dismissed them outright as barbarians.
The very name “Nanman Yeshu Palace” carried that implication—”nanman” meaning barbarian.
As it was, “cowards” seemed to be his way of belittling their late entry into the Jeongma Great War, after the Central Plains had closed off contact.
I found it wasn’t even offensive—had it been me, I would’ve said something far worse.
“What the hell are you talking about…”
“How obvious.”
His expression was infuriating.
“You little bastard!”
Maeng Ryeong-ji seemed not to have caught his words exactly.
Yet she’d sensed the insult clearly enough.
She flared up at once and grabbed him by the collar.
“Let’s see if you can keep that smug look once you’re face to face with my Axe!”
She snarled and twisted her face, as if to draw her weapon right then and there.
Eun Hyun said nothing, merely laying his right hand upon his sword’s grip.
Wait? They’re actually going to fight?
But watching this unfold, the atmosphere was turning increasingly odd.
Should they really be drawing weapons over this?
Even if Eun Hyun had been harsh with his hands, he hadn’t wounded Maeng Ryeong-ji.
I couldn’t understand why she was picking a fight and flaring up over some remark about street thugs.
Eun Hyun could have simply ignored her and walked past without a word.
With the Martial Combat Test coming up shortly, why were they both escalating like this?
Then again, they had their pride to think of.
I reminded myself that these two were barely past their mid-teens.
Come to think of it, in my past life, there were boys like this in middle and high school who’d sometimes fight in the classroom.
They were the cocky types who believed themselves superior, so once a confrontation started and someone raised their voice, they could rarely back down.
If they retreated now, they’d look weak and invite disrespect down the line, so they’d talk big and bold.
But without someone stepping in to mediate, they’d fight until someone yanked out their hair if they had to.
And yet, the ones actually in the confrontation secretly hoped another student would interrupt, or that a teacher would arrive to stop them.
But unfortunately, the martial instructors here were merely watching with interest, clearly having no intention of breaking it up.
Well, it wouldn’t do me any good if my friend made an enemy of Eun Hyun before the Entrance Examination even began.
And I had no desire to spend the rest of this examination being paired with Maeng Ryeong-ji while drawing Eun Hyun’s enmity.

‘Well, there’s nothing for it. We agreed to be friends, so I’d better talk some sense into them.’
I wedged myself between Maeng Ryeong-ji and Eun Hyun, whose gazes were locked in fierce confrontation.
“Both of you, calm down.”
I gripped their shoulders and pushed them apart.
“……?!”
Wait—what was Eun Hyun doing wrapping his Internal Energy around his shoulders like that?
Still, he’d only bounced back halfheartedly; he wasn’t truly bracing himself against the push.
Both of them retreated a few steps, looking genuinely taken aback.
‘Ah, so they were hoping someone would step in all along.’
Eun Hyun blinked, his expression bewildered.
Maeng Ryeong-ji’s mouth fell slightly open.
If only they’d stopped this easily from the start.
What was the point of fighting in the first place?
“Hmm.”
Maeng Ryeong-ji’s raised voice had drawn the attention of more than a few onlookers in this direction.
How best to address this?
If I scolded them too harshly in front of so many witnesses, both would be mortified.
I began by gently reproaching Maeng Ryeong-ji.
“That’s enough. You were the one who spoke harshly first, after all.”
Maeng Ryeong-ji, who had been momentarily stunned, spoke up.
“Su-ryeo, or… wait… what? Is this some secret technique of the Ice Palace?”
What was she talking about?
As if at a loss for words, she fumbled her hands through the air and spoke nonsense.
“Secret technique, nothing.”
I wanted Maeng Ryeong-ji to understand that if a martial artist wished to offer correction to another, she ought first to speak reasonably, at least once.
And that to suddenly pick a quarrel with someone who had neither directly attacked her nor committed any grossly improper act was the very behavior of a street thug who starts brawls in taverns—such conduct unbecoming of a true martial artist.
“Ah… yes, I… I wasn’t acting like a proper martial artist.”
Maeng Ryeong-ji answered almost without thinking.
Eun Hyun must have heard that too.
At this point it was clear she was admitting fault.
Eun Hyun stood awkwardly, touching the shoulder where my hand had made contact.
I had no particular intention of drawing him into conversation.
But if I spoke only to Maeng Ryeong-ji, it would look unfair.
I decided to say something to Eun Hyun as well.
After all, striking someone who was already fleeing in submission, and putting power behind that blow—that was excessive.
“Ahem, you’re from Huashan’s school?”
“From the Ice Palace…”
“I’m Seol Su-ryeo. We’ll soon be classmates in the same cohort, so you needn’t be so formal with me, yes?”
“…As you wish.”
Hmm? She was using honorific speech with me?
Perhaps because Maeng Ryeong-ji had been disrespectful first, she was evening the score accordingly.
Since she had shown me courtesy, I spoke to her more gently in turn.
“Ryeong-ji’s words were rather rough, weren’t they? She had no intention of insulting your master.”
“……”
“You heard her just now—she said she was sorry, that she wasn’t acting like a proper martial artist. I’d like to apologize along with her.”
I smoothly added an apology to what Maeng Ryeong-ji had said, attempting mediation.
“……?”
Eun Hyun’s eyes trembled.
He seemed utterly unprepared for me to apologize.
His hand had left the sword hilt, true enough.
But his response remained ambiguous.
Couldn’t he simply accept and say it was fine?
Eun Hyun just glanced between my face and my hands, blinking without answer.
“Ryeong-ji meant to say that her hand was too heavy, that her technique was too rough.”
When I added this clarification, his expression shifted to genuine confusion.
I had thought he didn’t seem like the type who enjoyed tormenting the weak.
So perhaps he truly hadn’t realized he’d been so harsh in the fight.
“You didn’t break any rules of the Entrance Examination, I know. By your standard, giving your absolute best against every opponent probably counts as showing proper respect. But as you can see, not everyone here is like you.”
“Ah……”
“When you overwhelm someone far weaker than yourself, it’s easy for them to misinterpret it as cruelty.”
Personally, I never thought that the young Eun Hyun harbored such wicked tastes from the beginning—that he’d intentionally draw blood every time.
From my own perspective, a stronger opponent indulging in such behavior would be distasteful; wasn’t I simply trying to imagine things from his side?
“……I see.”
He didn’t argue back.
Rather, he gave a small nod as if he understood.
Unlike when Maeng Ryeong-ji had provoked him abruptly, hearing it said kindly was enough for him to grasp the meaning.
Had this explanation satisfied Maeng Ryeong-ji as well?
I gave Eun Hyun, who was only blinking his eyes, a light wink.
Then I draped an arm around Maeng Ryeong-ji’s shoulder.
“Let’s go now. We’ll settle the match later during class.”
I flashed a grin.
Only then did Maeng Ryeong-ji snap back to attention, her laughter booming out.
“……Yes, yes, that’s good! Fighting at your side, we’ll truly dominate those Nine Sects bastards! Ha ha ha!”
Dominate, she says…….
If there were theory subjects, I’m confident we’d crush them in those.
Maeng Ryeong-ji had been sullen even when I apologized to Eun Hyun on her behalf.
But once I soothed her properly, she quickly brightened, pumping her fist excitedly at the empty air.
“I’ll see you at the Entrance Examination.”
Since Eun Hyun still had several more Martial Combat Tests to complete, it was best we clear the way for him.
I waved to Eun Hyun and took a few steps back.
“…….”
“What, aren’t you going to fight?”
Yes, yes. No fighting. Just go watch the rest of the exam.
After I’d taken such care to smooth everything over.
“Bwahahaha!”
Someone who’d appeared late burst out laughing.
Surviving as a Terminal Heir to the Northern Sea Ice Palace (Ongoing)
Author │ Sashiang 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]
Website │ www.jayplemedia.com
© Sashiang Noru 2026
※ This work is published by J Plus Media Co., Ltd. in accordance with a contract with the copyright holder, and no part of its contents may be used in any form or by any means without permission from the company and the 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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