Surviving as the Terminally Ill Young Lady of the North Sea Ice Palace - Chapter 96

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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 96
I climbed the Eastern Mountain.
A disciple from the Kunlun Sect who’d mentioned seeing Cheong Hye two years prior had said I’d find him without much difficulty if I went near the summit.
I followed the single path leading toward the peak.
It wasn’t as well-maintained as the grounds within the Academy, but still, the path that had been cleared years ago made the climb considerably easier.
“Is that it?”
Just as I’d done at the Hunting Competition, I planned to reach the summit first and search for a small cottage from above, looking down.
But there was no need—following the path, I soon discovered a sprawling field just below the peak.
Seeing a small cottage on one side of the field, this appeared to be Cheong Hye’s dwelling.
It was hardly just a vegetable patch.
“Ah.”
I spotted the man immediately.
He was planting something in the field.
His white robes bore cloud patterns—unmistakably the garb of the Kunlun Sect.
The Academy had no formal dress code requirement.
Most students began by wearing their own sect’s uniforms.
But since classes left them easily soiled, those whose formal dress was white often switched to the black martial uniform issued by the Academy.
He wore his formal robes in their entirety, even while doing farm work.
“Excuse me—are you Cheong Hye, a master of the Kunlun Sect?”
I approached to speak with him, but when I saw his face, I faltered.
I’d heard his graduation was delayed, assuming he’d be in his early twenties at most.
Yet he looked well into his thirties.
……
And he didn’t answer my question.
Instead, he simply continued planting.
Beans, perhaps?
“I’m Seol Su Ryeo, the Palace Master of the Buk Hae Ice Palace. I’m a first-year student who entered Cheonmu Academy this year. I’ve come after hearing about you from your sect-mates and wishing to ask you something.”
I wondered if he hadn’t answered because I hadn’t introduced myself first and it seemed rude.
I offered a proper introduction and stated my purpose respectfully.
Yet Cheong Hye remained silent, planting beans.
“Hmm……”
What was this?
Had I somehow offended him without knowing?
Unable to understand why he wouldn’t answer, I even apologized in case I’d been rude.
“Do you perhaps have trouble hearing?”
I waved my hand in front of his face, wondering if he might be hard of hearing.
……
But while I blocked his way, he simply stood still, then shifted slightly to the side and returned to planting beans.
Nothing more.
“Is it that you don’t speak while working?”
I waited beside him for a moment, thinking he might finish his task.
But once he’d planted all the beans from the wicker basket, he reached in again and grabbed another handful.
“I’m sorry to bother you while you’re busy……”
“Seol?”
I’d suspected he was an odd person, true.
But I hadn’t expected him to ignore me entirely, so I was at a loss for what to do.
Then someone called my name from behind in a gentle voice.
“Wow, President! What brings you here?”
“……Seol, what about you? What’s a first-year student doing climbing the Eastern Mountain?”
It was Je Gal Mun Yu, the Student Council President.
I was simply relieved to meet someone who actually answered, so I waved at him.
Now that I thought about it, strictly speaking, this place was outside Academy grounds.
Was this something I shouldn’t let the Student Council President find out about?
“Haha, just had some business here.”
“I heard you took all but one badge at the Hunting Competition. Even that Red Dragon only managed forty-eight—impressive indeed. So you really are stronger than Nam Gung Min?”
I realized belatedly that I’d worried for nothing; he seemed simply delighted to encounter me in such an unexpected place.
Je Gal Mun Yu paid no attention to unauthorized absence and brought up the Hunting Competition instead.
‘So even the Student Council President isn’t as rigid a model student as all that.’
“I’m not sure. I won by setting traps, so I can’t say for certain. How do you know so precisely how many badges Nam Gung Min’s brother took?”
“Because I unfortunately didn’t break the record myself.”
“How many have you collected?”
“Forty-six.”
“Ah, what a shame. But they didn’t all enter the same year—does the record really mean anything?”
“……Breaking them doesn’t earn extra merit points either.”
That’s the whole problem.
If they gave out a hundred bonus points or so just for breaking the all-time record, how wonderful would that be!
As I grumbled, Je Gal Mun Yu smiled softly, noting that it was still impressive to surpass Nam Gung Min, exceed Nam Gung Cheon’s record, and gather nearly all the medallions in a single year.
Hmm, this one has good looks and a good character to match.
“I suppose Seol worked hard at the Hunting Competition because of merit points too?”
“That’s right.”
“Did you also seek out Cheong Hye’s chamber because you’re looking for a student to go on the Nine-Layered Underworld with?”
“No, it’s not that. I came to ask about Kunlun Mountain, but he won’t give me an answer.”
I may have become somewhat obsessed with merit points, but today I came for a different reason.
Je Gal Mun Yu raised an eyebrow in surprise, then rested his chin on his palm and murmured.
“I see. But that would be difficult. He’s still observing the Silent Meditation Vow…….”
“What? He was in the middle of the Silent Meditation Vow?”
“That’s right. It’s almost been three years now, hasn’t it? When he declared he would observe the vow until the barley and beans were harvested, I didn’t think it would take this long.”
I was startled to hear that he’d been farming here for the past three years.
Je Gal Mun Yu clarified that he had been farming and living here long before he himself entered the Academy.
What was approaching three years was the Silent Meditation Vow itself.
“Master Cheong Hye, my regards. I am Je Gal Mun Yu, the Student Council President this year.”
Cheong Hye, paying no attention to me and Je Gal Mun Yu discussing his matter, continued with his work.
Even when Je Gal Mun Yu spoke to him, he persisted in silence.
But Je Gal Mun Yu, as if he’d expected this all along, poured out what he had to say.
“It has been a month since you enrolled, yet you have not returned to the Dormitory once in March. The Dormitory Supervisor of Jijeong Hall, Heo Gong, has said he will deduct only one point per day. After subtracting yesterday’s deductions, your chamber’s merit points are eighty. If they drop below zero, I’ll have to forcibly take you on the Nine-Layered Underworld, so I do hope you’ll end your practice and return before then.”
“Unauthorized absence only costs one point?”
Cheong Hye didn’t acknowledge that he’d heard.
I was the one who turned to Je Gal Mun Yu in surprise.
But that wasn’t how it worked.
He explained that this place didn’t count it as unauthorized absence; you had to be caught somewhere like Luoyang for the Academy Head to deduct far more points.
“The one-point daily deduction applies to curfew violations. The Dormitory Supervisor sets that arbitrarily, so last year he was deducting ten points a day, yet Master Cheong Hye didn’t budge an inch.”
Heo Gong was comparatively lenient with discipline.
And Muk Jin Ha, who had no curfew at all…… that was actually pretty convenient.
“So he must have had thousands of points originally? Why hasn’t he graduated, and why doesn’t he come to the Dormitory and stay here instead?”
“I don’t know either.”
Je Gal Mun Yu shrugged his shoulders.
“So he hasn’t attended classes in nearly three years and has just been farming?”
“He must have earned all his merit points long ago. The Silent Meditation Vow hasn’t quite been three years, and I heard he started farming as soon as he enrolled. That would make it…… about nine years now.”
He’s been at school for nine years?
Or rather, can you even call it attending school?
Back in my past life when I was going to university, we used to joke that employment was something you did after graduating from your department—by farming at school.
But here was someone who’d actually made it real.
“Still, it looks like the barley will be ready to harvest soon. If the beans we’re planting now do well, will that finally be the end of it?”
Je Gal Mun Yu sighed while gazing at the field.
He said he wasn’t happy about throwing students into the Nine-Layered Underworld, and he was praying that the crops would thrive this year so Cheong Hye’s Silent Meditation Vow would finally end.
‘A vow that lasts until the beans and barley are harvested…….’
How much time was that supposed to take?
The barley, true to Je Gal Mun Yu’s word, already had its ears ripening.
As for the beans, it seemed planting had only just begun a few days ago, but it looked like a couple of days should be enough to finish sowing.
If he’d failed this many times already, did he simply have no talent for farming?
“Um, Master Cheong Hye. My business is really nothing serious—I just wanted to ask if you’d heard of a particular lake on Kunlun Mountain…… Could you perhaps just write down whether you have or haven’t heard of it?”
“…….”
Cheong Hye, as expected, didn’t answer and continued sowing beans.
I’d held out some hope, but it was clear he wouldn’t even engage in written communication until the vow was complete.
“Hmm…….”
“Why don’t you just search for books or buy information from the intelligence network instead?”
Je Gal Mun Yu mentioned that the Student Council Presidents from last year and the year before had attempted various persuasions but to no avail.
He recommended giving up.
But I was planning to search for books anyway.
I didn’t want word of my search for Eternal Fire Lotus to reach the information brokers.
“If you’re in the middle of your practice, I understand. Let me help.”
I picked up the wicker basket and began filling it with beans.
About a third of the bean field remained, and I wondered if we could finish planting in three or four days.
Working together would be faster.
Could this save me more than ten days of time at Kunlun Mountain?
Planting wouldn’t immediately lead to harvest, but it seemed worth investing a day or two.
……
Cheong Hye didn’t stop me.
He simply glanced in my direction for a moment, then returned to planting beans.
He definitely knows something, doesn’t he?
Surviving as the Young Lady of Buk Hae Ice Palace with Limited Time (Serialized)
Author │ Sahjang Noru
Publisher │ Kim Ju Hyung
Publishing House │ 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
ⓒ Sahjang Noru 2026
※ This work is published by J-Plus Media Co., Ltd. under 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 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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