Chapter 171: Hold On, Imperial Advisor! I, the Emperor, Have Recovered 8

Chapter 171: Wait, Imperial Advisor! I've Recovered 8

It was Qin Hanyue who had returned!

Lin Huaiqing quickly looked for a place to hide, but then realized that with Qin Hanyue's cultivation level, even if he hid, he would easily be found.

Besides, he was the emperor now, and this was his imperial palace—surely Qin Hanyue wouldn't kick him out?

Lin Huaiqing shamelessly stood his ground, waiting until Qin Hanyue entered the room before slowly saying:

"Imperial Advisor, where did you go? I've been looking all over for you."

Qin Hanyue was pretty surprised to find Lin Huaiqing in his private chambers. After all, given where they stood with each other, this place felt way too personal.

"Your Majesty, why didn't you just wait in the outer hall? I was gone for a minute, and you already tracked me down."

The two walked to the outer hall and sat down. Lin Huaiqing finally couldn't take Qin Hanyue's slow, drawn-out way of doing things, so he spoke first:

"Imperial Advisor, didn't you say you found a way to cure me or not? So what is it? And why all the mystery?"

"Your Majesty, no need to rush. I'm sure you've already tried conventional methods. If we want to get Your Majesty back in fighting form, we'll have to resort to some methods from our cultivation world."

Lin Huaiqing actually believed him on this one. He'd been a cultivator himself back in the day, so he naturally knew that illnesses ordinary physicians couldn't cure could be treated through cultivation.

That was common knowledge in the cultivation world.

"So what exactly is the method?" Always dragging his feet—it was enough to drive a person crazy.

Qin Hanyue barely parted his lips and said, almost curtly: "Dual Cultivation."

"What?!" He didn't get it, but he was totally floored.

Was Qin Hanyue so desperate to win him over that he'd lost his mind? How could he even say something like that?!

"Qin Hanyue, you're messing with me, right?" You can't just throw around talk of dual cultivation like that!

Besides, they were both guys, not dao companions, and didn't even have any feelings for each other. How were they supposed to do it? Cultivate what, exactly?

But Qin Hanyue looked dead serious, like he wasn't joking in the slightest.

"Does Your Majesty know something about dual cultivation? This is the best option I've got right now."

"I... I don't know anything about it! I'm not one of you cultivator types. But I've heard this kind of thing is only for cultivators who've become dao companions, isn't it?"

Lin Huaiqing tried to appeal to ethics and morality to stir whatever tiny bit of conscience Qin Hanyue had left.

"That's not exactly true. In our cultivation world, it's not just dao companions who do dual cultivation—plenty of master-disciple pairs do it too, to enhance each other's cultivation."

Okay, when he put it like that, it wasn't totally wrong...

But something about it was still off! It was wrong in twelve ways out of ten. Nasty memories from his cultivation days came flooding back.

Even if they were master and disciple, doing that was absolutely out of the question!!

"Since you said it's only for dao companions or master-disciple pairs, then Your Majesty and I don't exactly have... that kind of relationship, do we?"

Lin Huaiqing's repeated rejections would crack even someone as cool-headed as Qin Hanyue.

Qin Hanyue still had a faint smile on his face, but his tone was cold as ice shards.

"If it really bothers Your Majesty, then forget it. Pretend I never said anything."

And just like that, they were back to square one. Lin Huaiqing irritably scratched his head, his head spinning with what he'd do when the concubine candidates came to the palace soon.

One or two days was fine, even three or four, but he couldn't dodge having someone share his bed every night. Once that happened, he'd be found out, wouldn't he?

Oh, wait—didn't dual cultivation come in two types, soul cultivation and body cultivation?! If he only did soul cultivation with Qin Hanyue, would that even do anything for his problem?

When Lin Huaiqing shared his thoughts with Qin Hanyue, the other man was clearly caught off guard.

"How does Your Majesty know all this?!"

"Well... I heard it from the previous imperial advisor. I only know the basics." Lin Huaiqing scrambled for an excuse and finally just decided to pin it all on the previous imperial advisor.

After all, that previous imperial advisor was a rogue cultivator kicked out of the Righteous Sects—no good in either character or skill.

But even so, a nobody like that, who couldn't hack it in the cultivation world, could still land a job as imperial advisor here.

He was stuck at the early Golden Core stage and could never break through. Apparently, not long after Qin Hanyue took the job, that guy kicked the bucket.

Qin Hanyue had a look on his face that was hard to read, and it took him a moment before he could ask: "Your Majesty was just a kid back then, and the previous imperial advisor told you about this?!"

Pissed off, Lin Huaiqing rolled his eyes. "You're changing the subject, aren't you? I'm asking if soul cultivation would work for my problem."

"If you put it that way, sure, it'd have some effect, but barely. After all, body cultivation works directly on the body, while soul cultivation is just a side boost."

On this point, Qin Hanyue wasn't lying to him. Although during his time in the cultivation world, he had never engaged in soul cultivation with anyone.

But he also knew that to improve one's strength, body cultivation accounted for over ninety percent.

However, even that minimal effect, he didn't want to give up.

Anyway, it was just soul cultivation with Qin Hanyue—he wouldn't even have to take his clothes off. What was there to be scared of? He could just treat it like a dream!

"Fine! In that case, let's do soul cultivation! When do we start?"

"I'm not very proficient in soul cultivation either. I need some time to prepare. How about the day after tomorrow, at this same time? Your Majesty can wait for me in your bedchamber."

This time, it was finally not in the outer hall.

After all, something this private would definitely have to be done in the bedchamber. Surely Qin Hanyue would remove that barrier during this time, right?

He was also quite curious about what the bedchamber of someone like Qin Hanyue, who barely needed to sleep, looked like.

With the time for their first soul cultivation session confirmed, Lin Huaiqing was about to head out when suddenly, a knock came at the door.

Both of them fell silent and exchanged a glance. Confirming that neither had sent the person, Qin Hanyue cautiously asked:

"Who is it?"

"Is Your Majesty inside? It's your consort! Your consort has brought you some soup!" A woman's lively and melodious voice came from outside the door.

Lin Huaiqing searched his memory for a moment and realized the person outside should be the original owner's Virtuous Consort.

Back when she was still in the residence, she was always finding excuses to have the original owner stay overnight in her room. Now that she had been titled Virtuous Consort, she still hadn't given up on adding her special ingredients to his soup!

The original owner had already fallen for this once—he absolutely couldn't let it happen a second time.

Lin Huaiqing: "Come in!"

In the hazy night, Consort Xian moved with a willowy grace that didn't match her curvy figure. Clad in a striking long gown, she looked especially alluring.

Had she been before ordinary men, none could have torn their eyes away. Too bad the three men now standing before her were anything but ordinary.

"Your Majesty, forgive me!" Yan Weiquan followed Consort Xian into the room and immediately knelt, "I did tell Her Highness that you were in important discussions with the Imperial Advisor, but I couldn't stop her—Her Highness insisted on delivering soup to Your Majesty."

"Enough, Yan Weiquan, this is none of your concern. You may take your leave!"

"Yes! I'll withdraw!" Yan Weiquan, fearing he'd get dragged into trouble, quickly retreated outside the door, not forgetting to close it behind him.

"It's not that I'm scolding you, but how did you find your way here? Don't you know the Imperial Advisor is not fond of women? You even dared to barge into the Penglai Pavilion!"

"Your Majesty, this official follows the Daoist path, not the Buddhist one. It's not that serious. Her Highness is merely concerned for Your Majesty, though next time it would be better to have Chief Steward Yan deliver it."