Master of Strange Dao

Sure, here is the translation:

No one paid attention to the event from a month ago, even though the entire city had heard about it.

That night at midnight, more than half the people in the city, who had already fallen asleep, were startled awake by nightmares in a very short time. Upon waking, they could hardly remember what nightmares they had, and by daylight, everyone completely forgot the content of the nightmares, only remembering being startled awake by them.

This clearly unusual event was only briefly checked by the local County Magistrate, who sent a few low-tier cultivators around the city, equipped with a low-tier Magic Artifact, to see if there were any evil spirits.

Having found nothing, the matter was dropped even without a report.

Had he reported it, within a month's time, someone from higher up would have come to investigate.

This small city beneath their feet had a population of two to three hundred thousand. Overnight, two hundred thousand people waking from nightmares simultaneously was no small matter.

Thinking it over, Yu Ziqing still felt that this matter could not be ignored.

He could not fight alone; he had to make the Dali court pay more attention to such matters.

On one hand, he could not know of unusual situations but still watch silently without saying a word. This time, it was merely two hundred thousand people waking from nightmares simultaneously. Who could say if the next time it would be two hundred thousand people simultaneously losing their Divine Souls?

On the other hand, he couldn't always personally seek out Devils.

So, he sent a message to Uncle Fu.

He didn't mention the Yin Devil, only saying that Lou Huai had arrived, and he wanted Lou Huai to follow him to investigate what happened a month ago in this small city.

He could not mention Lou Huai's identity, nor the Yin Devil, since there could be more Devils hiding, and he couldn't let them become alerted.

He could only give them a clue everyone knew. As long as the unresolved mystery reached the ears of those cultivators at Lihuo Institute, he did not believe that all of them could resist the temptation to investigate.

Yu Ziqing also believed that those fellows could definitely unearth some information if they wanted to dig deep.

Lin Fu received the message. Upon seeing the name Lou Huai, he knew who it was.

Then, he inquired about the matter and found out that a member of the Gu Family had been in that small city a month ago.

After hearing about the nightmare-waking incident, and connecting it with Lou Huai, Lin Fu thought it over and went to see the Crown Prince.

Yu Ziqing didn't make it clear as he had some concerns; such puzzles were clearly for the Crown Prince.

At the Eastern Palace, Lin Fu passed the message on up. The Crown Prince inquired casually, and soon after, an intelligence report appeared in the Crown Prince's hands.

"Overnight, more than two hundred thousand people, almost simultaneously startled awake from nightmares, and they don't remember any nightmares. Could it be some evil spirit?"

"Your Highness, the local County Magistrate has already investigated. The city is bustling with no epidemic, nor any major disaster. The Yang Qi is abundant, with no Evil Qi nor demons, and they found no problem whatsoever."

The Crown Prince studied the newly delivered report, his brow furrowing slightly.

The County Magistrate hadn't reported it since there had been no particular changes.

However, for someone of the Crown Prince's status and strength, there was certainly something influencing the city, and the fact that no one could find a trace of it was too irregular.

"Your Highness, we also discovered that Qing Ziyu was in this small city, staying for a month after awakening from the nightmares."

The Crown Prince didn't say that the news actually came from Qing Ziyu.

"Take this intelligence to my master."

A moment later, in a room at the Lihuo Institute, an elder was tinkering with a shattered Copper Tripod, carefully imprinting the runes on it and attempting to reassemble them, trying to restore some of the broken runes.

After receiving the intelligence from the Crown Prince, the elder glanced at it with indifference and casually gave an order.

"Interesting, Xiaohu, since the Crown Prince mentioned it, take a trip and investigate thoroughly."

"Yes, Mr. Ling You."

Outside the door, a Great Cultivator guarding the place nodded and disappeared instantly.

A few days later, while Wen Lingyou was still studying those ancient runes, Wang Xiaohu appeared at the door.

"Mr. Ling You, I've returned."

"Oh, so quickly. What did you find?"

"Not a trace—no Evil Qi, no Demonic Qi, no demon qi, and not even a hint of Evil Qi. The city is bustling with activity, people thriving, and I examined tens of thousands without finding anything unusual.

But indeed, over a month ago, starting at 12:45 AM, over twenty thousand people were startled awake by nightmares within less than fifteen minutes, and it's indeed true."

Wen Lingyou put down the Copper Tripod fragments in his hand and turned to examine Wang Xiaohu's firsthand investigation data, frowning gradually.

"Xiaohu, you've also practiced Refining God, haven't you?"

"Indeed, Qi Refining Incarnation Realm, with Cultivating God barely reaching the Seventh Tier Yang God Realm."

"If even you can't detect the slightest anomaly, then there truly is an unusual situation."

After some thought, Wen Lingyou asked again.

"Was this matter recorded in the county annals?"

"I've checked, and it's already recorded."

"Good. If I remember correctly, each county's annals are sent to the Imperial City every three years. Go and bring the annals from the last century, no, millennium.

Then find some people, especially those idlers at the Spirit Plant Institute, and have them stretch their limbs and help investigate the annals."