When the Queen woke up, she was showing signs of distress. "Are you alright, madam?" I said the moment she opened her eyes, but I lay on the bed, acting like I was in excruciating pain which I tried to keep suppressed bravely.

A tricky balance to maintain, but if her expression of concern was any indicator, I was successful.

"Don't worry about me. How do you feel?" she asked.

"Nothing I can't handle," I said, but used every non-verbal clue I had to convince her that I was actually in distress.

"Very well," she said, but her actions made it look like she didn't believe me. She walked to me and put her hand to my temple once more. Another jolt of Qi, this time less than half as strong. Yet, I barely managed to keep myself from shouting in happiness.

[Cultivation Difference Bonus - 30; Pity Bonus - 40 (Capped)]

[70x Return - 2 Qi Strands]

There was no drop in the cultivation difference bonus.

Meaning, the System didn't calculate Martial and Qi together, but added them. What an incredible benefit. Here I was, afraid that I had sacrificed a lot in return for my ability to manipulate Qi directly.

I acted like the pain turned manageable. "What happened?" she asked. "I — the Queen asked you to leave."

"I tried, but suddenly, two men dressed in black attacked me. They weren't using Imperial Sword. They failed, but one of them managed to destroy the talisman. Yet, when I defended myself and defeated them, a lot of guards appeared and started chasing me…" I started, giving her a fictional story of my escape that nonetheless fit everything she knew.

I deliberately mentioned one guard that helped to distract the others.

"I see. It's my fault," she said. "I should have told you to leave directly."

"Nonsense, madam. It's my own mistakes that pushed me down. You're the one that helped me," I said as I grabbed her hand. A forward move, particularly under the circumstances, but she didn't pull her hand away. Not surprising. She was alone, and touch-starved, and I was a handsome and valiant martial artist who owed her big time.

She still pulled her hand after some delay, and I let her. No need to push her too much. "You have to stay here until things calm down. Then, I'll arrange a way to get away," she said, feeling responsible for my situation.

Good. Feeling guilty didn't prevent her from feeling pity.

"Please, madam. Don't risk yourself. I can't live knowing a hair of you harmed for me," I said.

"If that's your wish. Then, stay in the bed and rest. Also, both the basement and upstairs are forbidden, so don't move around. Understood?"

"Yes, madam," I said, giving her a pitiful smile. I much preferred to give a seductive one, but, I planned to wait until I was sure she would respond in kind.

When she left, I pulled the book she wrote once more. I read the book carefully, not to learn more, but to find better questions to ask her. Now that I could sense Qi, I could ask her more pointed questions, but the only way to do so was to find appropriate sections in her book.

Freeloading was particularly difficult when it came to knowledge.

At the same time, I looked around the room and saw a top-quality brush set, accompanied by paper. The room was filled with dust but furnished impeccably.

I stood up, cleaned the place, and started writing several poems about martial arts to kill time. Also, since we would spend a lot of time together, I wanted her help in other subjects as well. It was a good way to keep the discussion from getting too one-sided.

Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

Not to mention, it would create a reason for some casual touches.

My writing turned even more beautiful. My skill level might be the same, but my increased cultivation increased my motor functions along with my strength.

The fact that it was cumulative with martial arts boost was even better. Though, the effect was merely additive rather than multiplying, meaning, ultimately, it was a waste for a cultivator to learn martial arts unless they had no other choice.

Like the poor Queen that was currently hosting me. Whatever ailment she was suffering made her cultivation regress to the point that martial cultivation was the better option.

While writing, I kept my eyes closed, trying to feel the Qi around us. It was hard, though this time, it wasn't about my lack of talent. Feeling external Qi was not a simple thing for others as well unless they had some rare talent according to Queen's book.

It was the whole point of a meditation art. I grabbed a mote of Qi, which was the smallest piece that was floating, which was mostly cursed Qi, infecting the house despite the protections. Though, just by the amount it was invading my essence, I could say the amount was much lower compared to the outside.

No wonder the attackers tried to sabotage the protections.

"It's time to earn my keep," I thought as I started to gather cursed Qi and lock into my essence. Not only it would give me an excuse to extend my sickness, but also it would keep the environment of the house cleaner.

Therefore, helping the Queen to recover faster.

A nice little balance.

I started walking around the house, though, for the moment, I avoided the basement and the upstairs. The latter, because I wanted to respect her privacy, the former, I was afraid that whatever was too dangerous to deal with.

As I walked around, I gathered some more cursed Qi, ready to throw them out along with most of my Essence, which I could replenish with the food and the pills in my Inventory.

Though, as I walked, I made sure to walk slowly, like I was a sick person doing my best to stand straight. I walked around, but occasionally used one of the servant entrances to go out and push all the energy out.

The pure Qi, I left in the palace.

As I walked around, I started to get a better sense of what was going on. The pure Qi in the room was coming from upstairs, and the density got higher as I climbed higher. Likely some kind of cultivation environment she prepared for herself.

Whether the king — and the cultivators that forced the situation — didn't know about it in the first place, or deliberately allowed it for some reason was a question I couldn't answer.

Cursed Qi, on the other hand, came from the basement. There was some kind of barrier that blocked the flow, so it was just a drip. No wonder she warned me not to enter there.

After walking. I managed to get rid of most of the cursed Qi on the first floor. Which would, hopefully, make her cultivation easier.

The more Qi she had, the more she would be willing to spend to help me.

I split my time between reading the book and finding ways to push out cursed Qi without wasting essence. I was more successful in the former … but eventually, I would get a hang of the former. When the evening arrived, the cursed Qi invading the house got stronger. I still took in most, but left some behind, hoping to keep her from getting suspicious.

When she arrived downstairs, it was already midnight, yet she still looked exhausted. She saw me trying to clean the place, only to fail with the pain. I did that, not only to sell my pain but also to make sure the System continued to reward me.

Just in case she considered it a payment, now that I was not officially a servant.

"What did I tell you! Stay in the bed!" she admonished.

"But … I want to ..." I started, then stopped to fake a spasm.

"No argument," she said as she moved forward, grabbed me, and dragged me to my bedroom. "No leaving."

When she dragged me, she noticed several papers, filled with questions. "Oh, you are already working on the book?" she asked.

"I can't waste the Queen's favor," I declared proudly. "I have to work hard."

"But you have some questions," she said.

"I … yes, I have," I said, looking ashamed. "I'm not that smart," I said.

"Nonsense. You're not even a cultivator, yet your comprehension is better. They should be ashamed instead," she said. "Let's work on them… But first, take this," she said, giving me another talisman.

[Cultivation Difference Bonus - 30; Pity Bonus - 40 (Capped)]

[70x Return - Cleansing Talisman, Yellow High-Grade]

I put it on my neck, and instantly, I felt some of the cursed Qi that affected me to weaken, turning into pure Qi. It was still not subdued, so I couldn't use it to cultivate, but once I learned a technique, I could use it for it.

Meanwhile, I just found a way to help her. The System wouldn't allow me to give the upgraded version to her … but what about using it myself. Another way to trick the System.

The class began, my pointed questions making it far more effective than its previous versions. She continued explaining … and using the talisman as an excuse, I even managed to get a quick lesson about the general concepts of talismans.

[Cultivation Difference Bonus - 30; Pity Bonus - 40 (Capped)]

[70x Return - Thousand Petals Meditation Technique Lesson, Major Familiarity]

[70x Return - Verdant Brush Talisman Technique Lesson, Beginner]

[70x Return - Calligraphy, Major Accomplishment - Perfection]