Chapter 830 Barracks Trip: Unsettling Feelings

Lee Seng opened the doors to a loud temple. It was filled with chatting and laughter. More recruits had either found their way to the temple or used the beacon, so recruits were running about. Four recruits chased after each other, sneaking between Lee Seng and Keng.

"Hey! You aren't supposed to go outside at night! It's dangerous!" Rudy shouted. Rudy noticed the twins and saluted them. "You're back! Where did you suddenly go? Did you see another beacon?"

"It's complicated." Keng answered, moving past his brother. "Where's Brother Zixin? We need to talk to him about something in private."

Zixin, Lee Seng and Keng sat in a separate sitting area, away from all the noise. The room was decorated with two couches, a coffee table and bookshelves filled with books, empty picture frames, and items from the past.

"That's what happened." Keng finished up. He leaned back into the couch, turning his body and resting his head on the couch's arm and pushing his feet into Lee Seng's lap. Zixin thought for a moment, taking in the twins' story.

"So, Gio tried to write the Beacon rune to save him and his team from a Chimera?" Zixin asked.

"Yup." Keng and Lee Seng answered in unison.

"And instead of it not working like you showed me, he somehow released a bright light?"

"Yup." The twins nodded. Zixin leaned forward and looked at the twins.

"It had the same energy patterns as the beacon rune, too?"

"Yeah." Lee Seng nodded.

"Mmmhm!" Keng turned himself to look at Zixin. He wiggled his legs while Lee Seng ignored it and played with Keng's leg. "We technically intervened so we couldn't really say they failed the test."

"Hm… You still allowed them to do this after they told you the truth, too?" Zixin brushed his chin. "You two are too nice."

"Gio begged for it." Lee Seng told Zixin. "Was I supposed to say no to that face?" Zixin flicked his eyes over to Lee Seng and observed him for a bit. He had very few interactions with Lee Seng in the last two years and didn't really know what to expect from him.

"If anything, those three kids worry me more than Gio trying to protect them." Keng commented. "I'm more worried they'll beat Gio at this point than anything."

'Lee Seng's eyes haven't changed in all this time.' Zixin observed. 'Does he have some interest in one of the kids?'

"We'll continue our monitoring like normal. I can have one of my men locate them and keep an eye on them for the time being." Zixin leaned back into the couch and blinked a couple times. "That group is one of the most worrisome groups I've dealt with so far… Vahn, Cro, and Iol come from wealthy families in Revit. They were sent here because their families wanted them to have strong connections. It's all a game to boost their namesake… I can't really do anything to those boys unless they mess up. They've teased and pushed around Gio a lot, but they haven't broken any rules, per se."

Lee Seng's intense stare grew more intense. Lee Seng leaned shifted in his spot, pushing Keng's legs off. Keng put himself back into a sitting position and looked at Lee Seng for a while. Lee Seng grew irritated and looked at Keng and shook his head no. The two fought a silent battle in front of Zixin before Keng pinched Lee Seng.

"Tell him." Keng spoke aloud. Lee Seng yelped and swatted Keng away from him.

"Fine!" Lee Seng dramatically answered. Lee Seng scooted to the opposite side of the couch. Keng smiled while Lee Seng rolled his eyes.

"Tell me what?" Zixin raised an eyebrow.

"From the moment I saw him that morning a couple days ago until just recently, I've felt something very strong in him. A burning energy that wants out." Lee Seng informed Zixin. "He's only two tails into his journey, but I think, Zixin, Gio has a potential if its grown in the right conditions." Keng and Zixin both really focused on Lee Seng at this point. The two were taken aback by Lee Seng's quickly growing interest in Gio.

"What are you saying?" Keng asked. "You sound like… you want to recruit him or something? T-that's not what you're saying, right? That kid already chose the military force. It's not like we can just snag anyone we want because we're Saviors. W-what do you think, Brother Zixin? D-doesn't this sound ab-absurd?" Zixin sighed and leaned forward. He took the cup of water set on the coffee table and took a sip of it.

"I've been thinking about what I should do with Gio in particular, since he passed the military exam." Zixin sighed. He set down the cup of water and leaned back into the couch. "There were recruits that passed the test and then there were those that barely passed the test. Gio was one of the Fox Spirits that barely, barely, barely passed that low bar. The other high ranking soldiers and I were hesitant to even let him in, but he had passed it even if he did hit that low of a bar. We've been watching him ever since and it wasn't until Nabi pointed it out to me that Gio was extremely dedicated to being a soldier. He practiced from dawn to dusk. He ate when he was supposed to, did all the drills and even trained those drills afterwards, too! In the couple months he's been here, he's been picked on yet he continues to grow so well!

"Yes, Gio says he made a promise. Yes, he will do whatever to uphold that promise. He genuinely wants to help people, too. My team and I couldn't just say no to him. There's no reason for us to say no. We can't technically do anything to separate Gio from his teammates. It was randomly chosen after they completed their preliminary training."

"You have a lot of two-tailed Foxes." Lee Seng cleared his throat. "Have they gone on their Limbo journey, yet?"

"We're training them for that now, actually." Zixin answered. "There's only two people in that batch that's already done their journey prior to joining. The rest are being trained for that journey now actually." Lee Seng nodded and folded his arms together. "Are you actually interested in him, Leader Lee Seng?"

Keng looked over at Zixin. He had addressed Lee Seng as 'leader.' It was a strange honorific switch; one that would've made no sense speaking in English, but was a strange switch to Keng. Most of Zixin's interactions were with Keng, so Zixin would talk to Lee Seng more formally. Keng looked over at his brother and waited for his answer. Those purple-blue and purple-red dragon eyes went over simulations while staring at the cup of water before answering.

"I won't press it for now." Lee Seng looked at Zixin. "I would be lying if I said I wasn't interested. I'm interested in Gio, but if he thinks the military force is where he should be, I won't force him to. I'll take the opportunity to ask him about it, but I won't push it." Zixin nodded and let out a sigh of relief.

"I thought you were just going to snag one of my men in front of me." Zixin smiled. Lee Seng eased up. The serious look in his eyes vanished and Lee Seng was picking up his glass of water and downing it.

"I wouldn't do such a thing, sir." Lee Seng smiled, resting the cup on the arm of the couch. "Just a thought. If I've learned anything from all the stuff I've been through in the last ye— almost three years, it would be there isn't a set path. Even if there was a hard path ahead of you, Fate can't just force you down it. You could break away and create a new one, but I digress. We just wanted to bring this to your attention. We don't mean anything from it. We're just doing our job and letting you know, Brother Zixin."

'Another honorific switch.' Keng observed. 'These two definitely don't know what to call each other.' Keng hopped onto Lee Seng and wrapped an arm around him.

"Well, since that's that, why don't we let Brother Zixin go and rest up? We got two and a half more days until the test is over. We'll need to prepare ourselves for the time that's to come." Keng suggested.

"Mmm." Lee Seng agreed. "There's still a lot to do before it's all over. We should focus on that."

"And what comes after they're all in one place, again." Zixin stood up. The twins stood up, peeling away from each other as Zixin let out a sigh. "This group is the hardest group thus far… I don't know why I even agreed to be Captain."

"C'mon, Zixin." Keng made his way over to Zixin, attaching himself like a leech. "You have the brains, the brawns and the capacity to lead soldiers. Don't doubt yourself so much!"

"I wish I could be going on missions like Nabi… It was easier that way even if I complained so damn much…" Zixin frowned.

"Don't stress so hard! Lady Vix'i knows what she's doing! She definitely saw something in you and is using that potential!" Keng reassured Zixin. Zixin nodded and smiled at Keng. Keng patted Zixin before plucking himself off Zixin and motioning to the door. "Let's just have a good time, huh? Let's hope everyone comes back unscathed!"