Surviving as the Terminally Ill Young Lady of the North Sea Ice Palace - Chapter 91

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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 91
“Very well.”
Eun Hyun picked up his sword and followed me out of the cave.
We found a flat clearing and descended the slope a little.
“I’ll pour everything into this blade.”
“I’ll give it my all too.”
Beneath the setting sun, Eun Hyun’s long hair, tied back in a single knot, streamed in the wind.
Ah. This is what a martial duel looks like.
Eun Hyun approached every sparring match with absolute seriousness, and saw that very seriousness as a mark of respect for his opponent.
I’d decided to honor him with the same courtesy.
Of course, that didn’t mean I was planning to fight a Life-and-Death Duel—life comes before courtesy, after all.
Whoosh!
I took the initiative, driving my blade straight toward his chest.
Clang! Clang-clang-clang!
Steel struck steel, sword energy scattered, and peach blossoms swirled through the air.
They say Hua Shan Sect’s swordplay ranks among the finest in Zhong Yuan.
As soon as one technique bloomed, the next unfolded—each slash flowing into the next like water, a ceaseless tide of cuts.
‘The Hua Shan style really is magnificent.’
It hadn’t been long since my last sparring match with Eun Hyun.
Yet somehow, every time we crossed blades, his technique seemed to grow more radiant.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Just when I thought my attack was landing—
Eun Hyun caught my blade against his, pulled it toward himself, and wrapped around it.
Then he twisted his wrist and flicked it free.
As his force dissipated and I was pushed back, the world bloomed pink with peach blossoms.
A thrust transformed into a cut.
A straight approach suddenly changed direction.
‘Do they teach this in Hwan Geom class?’
Not long ago, the distinction between false techniques and real techniques had been quite sharp.
Today, though, he was switching between them with unusual brilliance.
Watching a student grow like this must stir up complicated feelings in Myeong Seong.
Clang-clang-ding!
What I’d dismissed as a false technique carried an enormous surge of Internal Energy.
I nearly left an opening.
“Whew—that was close.”
“I know you weren’t caught at all.”
No, it wasn’t quite that.
I’d managed to channel my Qi at the last possible moment to respond.
But it genuinely startled me.
If I let this go on, I’d find myself on the defensive.
When I’d sparred with Jin Young Hu, I’d deflected nearly a hundred percent of his attacks, so no effective blow had landed on me.
But now, as I parsed his false techniques and traded blows one after another, considerable mental and physical energy was being drained with each exchange.
‘I need to lay a trap of my own.’
Baek Seol Nak Hun!
Though I’d hidden the fact that I possessed Internal Energy before, this was a technique I’d already used to catch Paeng Jung Geol off guard.
A rapid-fire barrage of consecutive thrusts, unleashed at tremendous speed.
But just as I’d grown familiar with his swordplay, Eun Hyun had learned mine quite well.
He tracked it with his eyes and stopped the entire flurry.
And when the technique ended, my lower abdomen lay wide open.
Swoosh!
As expected, Eun Hyun drove his attack toward that vulnerable spot.
I tried to deflect his strike.
Bing Hwa Jeol Ji!
“Ungh!”
This was a pattern we’d repeated several times before.
Eun Hyun, as if waiting for it, drove through with his Internal Energy during that brief moment when I tried to parry and slip away.
Tsh-tsh-tsh!
A massive pink sword energy rippled across Eun Hyun’s blade.
I didn’t have a comparable force to match it.
‘Wow—he found a way to counter Bing Hwa Jeol Ji in the meantime?’
There’s no stopping this.
Either I drop the sword.
Or my wrist snaps clean.
One or the other.
But to some extent, I’d already counted on this.
Crack!
I let the sword fall, just as expected.
Hiss!
I dropped low and drew my second blade in one fluid motion.
Then I unleashed two consecutive forms of the Red Dust Turbid Yang Gong.
“…?!”
Clang! Clang!
Whoosh! Boom!
A chain of explosions erupted between Eun Hyun and me at close quarters.
“Ugh!”
Eun Hyun went flying backward.
I had to absorb some of the recoil myself.
But Eun Hyun, caught completely off guard by the explosive discharge of Internal Energy he hadn’t anticipated, took the full brunt of the attack undefended.
“Cough, hack, gag!”
He tried to plant his sword on the ground mid-fall to steady himself.
But even that failed, and he tumbled across the floor.
Unlike me, who’d released my sword without hesitation, Eun Hyun held onto his until the end.
Yet the hand gripping his sword trembled, and his legs shook as he struggled to rise.
I walked over and pressed the blade’s tip against his chin.
“Still want to go on?”
“No, sir. I’ve lost. … Still, that second sword—I’ve never seen it before.”
Eun Hyun acknowledged his defeat calmly.
He drew the medal hanging from his waist and offered it to me.
I’d relied on grappling techniques for years and had won nearly every sparring match.
It seemed he’d expected as much.
“That’s right. You’re the third person to make me draw this blade.”
I accepted the medal, speaking with quiet weight.
Wait—was it really the third?
Huk Ryeong Geom, the Demonic Sect member hiding in the ceiling… no, actually, there was that time I drew it in front of Gu Won and demonstrated the Red Dust Turbid Yang Gong.
But if I count that, I’ve shown it to Gwak Do Cheon too.
Let me call drawing it against actual enemies the third time.
“… It’s an honor.”
Ugh, I was just speaking off the cuff, but his moved expression is making me uncomfortable now.
I awkwardly slid Excalibur back into its sheath.
Then I picked up the fallen sword from the ground.
“Are you hurt inside? Last time someone took that hit, they coughed blood and collapsed.”
I asked, just to be sure.
The moment the words left my mouth, blood began to trickle from the corner of Eun Hyun’s lips.
“Oh! Are you okay?”
I was supposed to be holding back.
Had he been too close?
When I rushed over in alarm, Eun Hyun waved his hand dismissively, insisting he was fine.
“I’m all right. My Internal Energy twisted just a little, but I can treat it myself.”
“How…?”
“I’ve sustained far more severe injuries before, so I’m quite skilled at Qi Healing.”
… What exactly has he been through?
I was curious, but it didn’t feel right to pry into painful memories here and now.
“Then go down and tend to it right away. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I scratched my head awkwardly.
But Eun Hyun offered a refreshed smile.
“I do hope you’ll gather all the medals, Seol.”
“Thanks for the support.”
Perhaps because the sparring had been so cleanly fought.
Unlike some of the other students who’d been ambushed and were suffering from their injuries, Eun Hyun had cheered me on straightforwardly.
There’s something to be said for fighting with honor.
Thanks, friend!
I’ll make good use of the token!
* * *
After Eun Hyun headed down to the shore, I returned to the cave and collapsed onto the ground.
I needed to prepare for tomorrow’s battle.
Though not as severe as the internal injuries Eun Hyun had sustained, I’d picked up my share of cuts and bruises.
I wanted to recover and face tomorrow’s fight in perfect condition.
I found a large boulder and used it to seal the cave entrance.
Then I consumed one of the Hui Won Dan I was carrying and performed a brief Qi Circulation meditation.
‘……Ah!’
While the wounds didn’t visibly close before my eyes, it was unmistakable.
The depleted Qi was replenishing, and the lingering pain that had been gnawing at me began to fade.
I’d watched Dan Ri Hyang heal on the entrance exam day, but this was the first time I’d consumed one myself.
So this is how it works.
‘I have forty-three tokens now.’
After resting for a while longer, I set out again to search for the remaining students.
The maximum number left should be fourteen.
……but realistically, there were probably only three or four.
I figured Un Cheon and Nam Goong Min were likely still in the running.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
I roamed the island cheerfully, making noise as I searched for students.
I’d long since abandoned any hope of ambushing them silently amid this racket.
Instead, I deliberately feigned sleep to invite an attack, or
exposed gaps while hunting to bait them out.
But as the sun climbed higher, no one appeared.
Surely they didn’t plan to hide for more than three hours straight.
‘Why aren’t they taking the bait? Are there no students left? Are they just hiding without any intention to fight?’
I’d at least thought Nam Goong Min would come to avenge Im So Jeong and Nam Goong A Young.
‘Ugh, I hate ending with an awkward four hundred thirty points!’
I actively searched everywhere—caves, branches, burrows—for anyone hiding.
But despite my efforts, I found nothing.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
Suddenly, someone came rushing straight at me.
“Argh! Seol!”
The moment the boy spotted me, he cried out in shock.
From his reaction, it seemed he hadn’t been looking for me at all.
“C-crazy! How many tokens do you have?”
He gasped again at the pile of tokens hanging from my waist.
It appeared he’d stumbled upon me unluckily while fleeing from someone else.
“You were a student of the Zhong Nan Sect, weren’t you?”
Clang! Clang! Clang!
He was already exhausted and had lost the will to fight, so
I subdued him without difficulty.
“I heard the Zhong Nan Sect and Mudan combined forces to attack Myeong Seong. Why are you alone? Did Un Cheon betray you?”
It was about time the alliance would fall apart anyway.
I asked if he’d been fleeing from Un Cheon, and
“No…… Un Cheon was taken down by Nam Goong Min too. I barely managed to escape.”
He told me the latest news.
Ah, so there’d been another battle on the opposite side of the island.
Buk Hae Ice Palace Short-Lived Young Lady’s Survival (Serialized)
Author │ Sah Yang No Ru
Publisher │ Kim Ju Hyung
Published by │ J Plus Media Co., Ltd.
Marketing │ Han Jae Hyuk
Address │ 401, Ace Tech Tower 8, 33 Digital-ro, Guro-gu, Seoul (Guro-dong)
Email │ [email protected]
Website │ www.jayplemedia.com
ⓒ Sah Yang No Ru 2026
※This work is published by J Plus Media Co., Ltd. in accordance with a contract with the copyright holder, and its contents 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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