"Can we go up?" Li Qingxian asked.
"No, but yes." Huang Tiantao stepped forward and up. The two guards' expressions shifted slightly, and they obediently moved aside.
Li Qingxian followed Huang Tiantao up and pressed his hand against the tree trunk.
An instant later, endless wails, curses, sobs, screams, and roars rang out, as though gathering into a tornado that sliced through Li Qingxian's brain.
Li Qingxian swayed, abruptly pulled his hand away, and retreated half a step, staring with lingering dread at the great tree, black outside and red within.
"What's wrong?" Huang Tiantao asked quietly.
Li Qingxian glanced up and said, "I'll take some branches and leaves to perform a divination."
One guard pleaded, "Please show mercy, sir. You mustn't take any..."
Crack.
Huang Tiantao snapped off a two-foot-long branch and handed it to Li Qingxian, leaves and all.
Li Qingxian took the branch, his right hand trembling slightly. "Let's go to a corner. I'm going to perform a divination."
They went to a nearby corner. Li Qingxian took out a tent, pitched it, went inside, and made all the preparations before calling to those outside, "Please stand guard for me."
Zhou Hen drew his curved saber and thrusting sword, while Huang Tiantao took out a rectangular cleaver as tall as himself, like a door panel.
Everyone waited quietly. After a long while, Li Qingxian emerged.
They looked over and saw that Li Qingxian was deathly pale, fine beads of sweat covering his forehead. His back was slightly hunched, and his steps were slow.
"What's wrong?" Yu Ping exclaimed in alarm, rushing over to support him with both hands.
"I expended some magical power. It's nothing," Li Qingxian said.
The Night Guard members exchanged glances. They had all seen and heard how immense Li Qingxian's magical reserves were;