32 Dragon Pattern
: This home is incomplete without my scatterbrained self (One in Two)
After tucking Little Light into the nursery for the night, Leon returned to Roswiser’s room.
The bedroom lights were off, but the study was still illuminated, indicating that Roswiser was still burning the midnight oil.
Leon stepped up to the study door and peeked inside.
The scene inside resembled a tranquil painting. The silver-haired beauty sat at her rosewood desk, back straight, shoulders gently rising and falling, accompanied by the rhythmic dance of her pen on paper.
A pair of long, snow-white legs rested atop a high stool, and those somewhat childish dragon-wing slippers dangled precariously, creating an adorably contrasting image against her elegance and concentration.
Draped in a soft nightgown, Roswiser’s silhouette was simple yet unimposing with a hint of unintentional seduction. The dragon pattern on her chest seemed to come alive with each breath, swaying above that lovely softness.
Her figure had returned to its pre-pregnancy state—skinny where it should be skinny and curvy where it should be curvy.
Of course, Leon hadn’t come to the study for an impromptu glance at his faux wife’s figure.
If that was the goal, a simple request would suffice; Roswiser had a thousand ways to turn on his dragon pattern.
Leon silently watched Roswiser for a while before finally opening his mouth, yet no words came out.
Roswiser was always serious when she worked, and Leon knew how it felt to be interrupted when someone was focused.
Moreover, the favor he wanted to ask her was a tad… hard to articulate.
Let’s see if there’s another way to broach the subject… Leon thought, turning to leave.
“Is there something you need?”
Just as he was about to take a step, Roswiser’s familiar, emotionless voice rang out.
Leon stood at the door, turning to look at her, yet remained silent.
Noticing Leon’s gaze, Roswiser paused, put her pen down, and looked up at him. “Speak up. Is there something you need? I’m done with my work.”
Leon lowered his eyes to the pile of documents on her desk.
Having learned a bit about this line of work from her before, he could more or less understand what she was dealing with.
Clearly, there were still a lot of tasks left untouched, but she insisted on saying she was “done.”
Ah well.
Since the queen had graciously made time for him, it would be a buzzkill if he hesitated any longer.
“I need you to help me with something,” Leon said.
“Hm? What do you need help with?”
“Help me open a door.”
The queen blinked in surprise, “Open… what door? Don’t you have the key to my room?”
General Leon’s face turned beet red as he awkwardly produced the book “Nine Gates of Hell” from behind him.
Roswiser’s gaze landed on the book.
She remembered it was that ancient text Taige handed to Leon a few days ago in the cave, detailing a form of powerful martial art.
Leaning forward slightly, with her chin resting on a hand, she asked leisurely, “So, the ‘door’ refers to the terminology in this ancient text, and you want my help in your training?”
Leon nodded, “Simply put, that’s it.”
Roswiser had also dabbled in many magical and ancient texts, so when Leon not only brought up “Nine Gates of Hell” but also requested her help to “open a door,” she could guess what this involved.
However, she couldn’t understand why such a simple training request would make the usually cheeky Leon blush.
Putting aside her curiosity, the queen readily agreed, “No problem. What kind of door? Just tell me how to do it.”
“Open… the steel door.”
…
…
The crow would love to “caw” its way in, but Roswiser’s study wasn’t just any old doorway you could waltz through.
Nonetheless, once that abstract and outrageous name escaped Leon’s lips, the atmosphere in the study instantly filled with awkwardness.
Roswiser’s face turned bright red.
Now she understood why that dog man had been stumbling over his words; who knew he meant this kind of request…
After much effort to calm her heart, Roswiser tried her best to keep her tone normal, “Leon, as you may know, the Dragon Race is one that seeks pure love, and I’m no different. So even though we’re a fake couple, I won’t betray you.”
Roswiser continued, “But your request… even the purest love might struggle to accept that. At least for me, I can’t.”
She then muttered softly, “Tsk, I didn’t realize you were so flashy.”
“Wait, Roswiser, let me explain—” General Leon attempted to redeem himself.
“If you’re trying to convince me to accept your new play, save your breath.”
Roswiser showed a hint of disdain for the first time.
Too bad Leon wasn’t a masochist; he couldn’t enjoy that delightful scorn.
He quickly rushed to Roswiser’s desk, unfolding “Nine Gates of Hell.”
“It’s not what you think; it’s a concept mentioned in the book! See for yourself.”
Roswiser looked skeptically down at the book, scanning its contents quickly.
Then, she rolled her eyes dramatically.
“Why is the ancient text your master gave you so abstract?”
Leon shrugged helplessly, “You know, abstract is a family tradition. It’s just my naturally exceptional self that makes this abstraction a bit more dazzling.”
Roswiser extended her long leg, kicking Leon’s knee under the table. “Stop bragging about your dazzle, prisoner.”
With that, she stood up, smoothed out her wrinkled nightgown from sitting too long, and stepped out of the study.
“Come on then, let’s—open the steel door.”
Hiss—
Why, despite knowing this was just part of the training, and this steel door wasn’t the other kind of “gang door,” did he feel such a chill inside…?
Leon swallowed nervously, took a deep breath to calm himself, and followed Roswiser to the bedroom with the ancient text in hand.
The couple turned on the bedside lamp, Leon stripped off his shirt, and lay back on the soft bed.
Roswiser knelt beside him, holding “Nine Gates of Hell” in one hand, her other hand gently resting on Leon’s abdomen.
“The first gate of ‘Nine Gates of Hell’ is a necessary path to train in this technique. Once opened, it remains ‘open’ consistently, so there’s no need to open it again during practice or combat.”
Roswiser read aloud from the book, “In simpler terms, the first gate is like the foundation when building a house—you must set a solid foundation before stacking anything on top of it.”
“While I’m tempted to commend your royal rhetoric, can we get on with it?” Leon nudged.
“Your hand is on my abdomen, and I feel very unsafe.”
Having bodily contact with Roswiser while bare-chested was akin to letting a fluffy lamb approach a wolf and say, “Mr. Wolf, please don’t eat me, I beg you.”
Slap—
Roswiser smacked Leon’s abdomen, “Shut it. Let me see what I need to do… According to the book, the waist and abdomen are the core areas for bodily strength. Hmm, I can definitely relate to that.”
Very deeply relate.
“At the same time, this area serves as a sort of switch for bodily strength. Only by channeling power from both inside and outside simultaneously into this ‘switch’ can you open the first gate.”
“And this power must be controlled and aided by an individual at the level of a Dragon King.”
“It doesn’t mean your power needs to reach Dragon King status, but rather the finesse in controlling that power…”
“Oh~ so basically, if you mess up, the practitioner could explode, huh?”
Having grasped the principle of opening the gate, Roswiser turned her gaze to Leon, her delicate fingers spinning playfully on his abdomen, with a wicked smile, her tone tinged with feigned sympathy.
“Honey~ you really trust me, huh? What if I accidentally blow you up?”
“Then you’ll just have two husbands,” Leon replied.
“What do you mean?”
“Upper half and lower half, you can pick which one you like best.”
Leon cracked a joke with her.
Though it was a bit on the hellish side.
Roswiser giggled, pinching his side, “I want both. Alright, I think I know what to do. You ready?”
Leon pressed his lips together, took a few breaths, then nodded, “Alright, let’s do this.”
“OK, feel my power and activate your own magic; let’s clash our strengths and aim to open the first gate in one go.”
“Got it.”
Leon closed his eyes, pulling the magic energy he had accumulated from the dragon pattern within him.
Roswiser also began to draw upon her own powers.
In the initial phase, both released a small wave of energy to sense each other.
Once they ensured they could feel one another, they began to increase their magical outputs.
“Leon, the book mentions that aside from magic, you also need to channel your ‘vital energy’ to gather in your abdomen. This significantly helps with opening the first gate, so give it a shot.”
“Sure.”
The book had provided a detailed explanation of ‘vital energy.’
Qi refers to the ‘vital energy’ within the human body, also known as ‘essence,’ and is the most fundamental life force;
bl**d is straightforward, referring purely to the bl**d in one’s veins.
Together, they form ‘vital energy.’
Wherever vital energy flows, it enhances the efficiency of magical pathways and accelerates metabolism. As Roswiser mentioned, concentrating this vital energy helps with opening the first gate.
However, Leon didn’t deeply understand the aspect of ‘vital energy,’ and his practice in this area wasn’t extensive.
For most people, their innate magical pathways were sufficient, and they never needed the assistance of vital energy.
But now he had to mobilize his vital energy to open the first gate.
Books are only useful when you actually need them, Leon mused silently.
“Leon, focus. You can do this.”
As Leon found himself momentarily distracted, he heard Roswiser’s encouragement.
He opened his eyes, turning to look at his wife.
Her silver hair was tousled by the flow of mana around her; she was using both hands, her brow slightly furrowed, fully concentrated on controlling the power’s intensity.
Opening the first gate involved certain risks; one misstep wouldn’t result in them just splitting their upper and lower halves, but injuries were certain.
Seeing Roswiser so serious about this made Leon smile in appreciation, “Got it.”
He closed his eyes again, activating his magic while also feeling the path of the vital energy circulating within him.
But this task was not as simple as a few words of encouragement could make it.
Despite Leon’s efforts to guide a portion of his vital energy to his abdomen, it was still insufficient.
“How can I gather more vital energy…”
Roswiser mumbled, “Vital energy… vital energy…”
Her peripheral vision caught the dragon pattern on Leon’s chest, and suddenly, an idea flashed in her mind.
“Leon, I have a trick that can help more vital energy flow downwards.”
“What—wait, flow down? What kind of flow?” Leon’s focus was slightly peculiar.
Roswiser didn’t explain further, only smiling, “Bear with me a bit.”
“Bear with what? Hey, Mother Dragon, make it clear!”
Just after she finished speaking, Leon suddenly felt a heat surging in his chest.
Looking down, it was the dragon pattern.
The dragon pattern emitted a ghostly purple light.
Leon blurted out in shock, “Hey, Mother Dragon, is now really the time for this?!”
“Did you forget, Leon? The dragon pattern is a wonderfully potent aphrodisiac; it can make you feel restless in an instant, your heart racing, body warming, and then… driving the vital energy to flow down.”
After pausing, Roswiser added, “Though it will end up gathering in other areas, you could intercept it while it flows through your abdomen.”
“Do you think this is a train robbery? Can you just intercept it?!”
“Then do you have any other method to stir your own vital energy? If not, then just enjoy the feelings the dragon pattern brings you.”
Initially, Leon thought using the dragon pattern to store magic energy was already an outrageously clever move;
Now Roswiser was using the dragon pattern’s ability to mobilize Leon’s vital energy.
Tsk, the dragon pattern on these two lovably unfortunate spouses was truly worth its weight in gold.
At this point, Leon honestly had no other effective means to mobilize his vital energy.
Well, let’s give it a shot.
As he felt the burgeoning desire beginning to flare up, he also manipulated his magic to collide with Roswiser’s energy.
His body underwent subtle changes through this intense process.
Centered around Leon’s abdomen, a steady flow of energy gradually spread throughout his limbs and bones.
Bones, bl**d, and meridians seemed to experience a special kind of refinement.
With the surge of power, a faint white glow slowly seeped from under Leon’s skin, interwoven with a hint of black substance.
Roswiser remembered that the book said this was the “impurities” within the practitioner’s body; one of the benefits of opening the first gate was the removal of these impurities, letting practitioners’ physiques become purer.
This meant that their method had worked.
Snapping back to reality, Roswiser could now clearly feel the strength pulsating through her palm.
Those solid muscles felt like a beast waking from slumber, merely touching him allowed one to feel the fierce power it harbored.
Leon and Roswiser’s magic intertwined seamlessly, with no signs of rejection.
Leon kept his eyes tightly shut; amidst the darkness, a flicker of light seemed to emerge.
That light grew brighter, as though it desperately wanted to burst forth from some barrier.
When the light fully flooded his vision, Leon abruptly jolted awake from a haze.
He sat up suddenly, bare from the waist up, breathing heavily as if he had just awoken from a nightmare.
After a moment of calm, he felt a warm, soft touch on his shoulder.
Leon slowly turned his head; it was Roswiser, her hand lightly resting on his shoulder.
The queen’s hair was tousled, her face flushed, a grin on her lips, “We did it, Leon; the first gate is open!”
At her words, Leon was exhilarated.
But amid the joy, his first response was, “Are you hurt or anything?”
Roswiser raised an eyebrow, “So concerned about me? What if I was hurt? Oh no, my hand hurts, oh no, my waist hurts, oh no, my legs hurt—everything hurts.”
Leon rolled his eyes at her, “Childish.”
After a moment, he looked more closely at Roswiser’s face.
It was red.
Huh?
Why was it red?
Success in opening the first gate aside, why was she blushing?
It wasn’t until Roswiser’s hand slid from his shoulder to his waist that Leon finally realized.
“Whoa, the dragon pattern!”
