To my mind it could be either. You're quite right that in these constructions both words can directly refer to the noun (eg. a "cheerfully playful" child is cheerful and playful).
In this case, however, my initial reaction is simply that the writer was trying to be far too clever and it's unlikely that the meaning is particularly worth bothering about. It's "showing off" writing and is not, I think, primarily about conveying meaning.