’Something’s very wrong with Landlord Long,’ Shen Bai thought as he was leaving.

He had originally planned to go to the blacksmith’s shop, but seeing that something was wrong with Long Yan, he decided to visit Liu Wufeng instead.

After all, Shen Bai knew he had to be cautious about any little disturbance.

The walk from the registration room to Liu Wufeng’s quarters didn’t take long.

When Shen Bai reached the room on the second floor, he found Liu Wufeng taking stock of the Dream-Entering Incense.

As if sensing Shen Bai’s arrival, Liu Wufeng kept his head down and continued counting. Without even looking up, he simply told him to close the door.

Shen Bai nodded. After closing the door, he sat down, but just as he was about to speak, Liu Wufeng beat him to it.

"You’ve noticed something’s wrong with Landlord Long too, haven’t you?"

Shen Bai paused for a moment at those words, then nodded.

If even he could tell something was off, then colleagues like Liu Wufeng, who spent every day with Long Yan, would have surely noticed it first.

Shen Bai figured that made perfect sense.

With that in mind, Shen Bai voiced his question.

"Right now, we have the ongoing mess with the Peach Opera Garden, the Wild Taoist Sect, the Wild Buddha Sect, and the Nightmare."

"Is Landlord Long’s sudden strange behavior related to any of this?"

Besides gaining access to Deceitful Objects and Evil Qi, another reason Shen Bai joined the Observatory was for the intelligence it provided.

Shen Bai had understood one thing very clearly ever since his rise in Shengyun County.

Once you stepped into this world, you were bound to make enemies.

That’s why intelligence was often a greater asset than raw combat strength.

From the looks of it, Liu Wufeng knew more.

So, Shen Bai didn’t beat around the bush and stated his thoughts directly.

"Our initial assessment is that Landlord Long has likely encountered a Nightmare," Liu Wufeng said, gesturing to the Dream-Entering Incense on the table. "But for some reason, she can’t sense that she’s been targeted by one."

"She’s encountered one but can’t sense it?" Shen Bai stroked his chin. "So the Nightmare just leaves her physically and mentally drained, yet her subconscious tells her she hasn’t encountered anything and doesn’t feel tired? Just what level of aberration could affect Landlord Long?"

Anyone capable of becoming a Landlord, while perhaps not as strong in a direct fight as Elder Mu, wouldn’t be weak by any means.

’For even someone at her level to be affected by a Nightmare... this aberration is likely a serious threat,’ Shen Bai thought.

Liu Wufeng shook his head. "With these things, you can never be sure. After all, in past cases, some Nightmares have been incredibly powerful, while others were quite weak. It seems to depend on the resentment involved and the person being targeted. In any case, we’ve seen the warning signs, so we need to deal with it."

"How do we deal with it? With the Dream-Entering Incense?" Shen Bai asked, looking at the row of incense sticks laid out on the table.

Liu Wufeng nodded. "Since it’s a Nightmare, we naturally have to solve it within the dream. I’ve already made the arrangements. We’ll wait for Long Yan to fall asleep tonight, then have Observatory members light the Dream-Entering Incense and enter her Dream Realm."

This was the first time Shen Bai had encountered such a peculiar aberration. He asked curiously, "Aren’t you going to tell Landlord Long about this?"

It seemed Long Yan was completely unaware of the whole situation, including the arrangements Liu Wufeng was making.

This made Shen Bai suspect there might be more to it.

Liu Wufeng cleared his throat. "If we tell Landlord Long, she’ll definitely try to handle it herself. But this particular Nightmare seems exceptionally bizarre and powerful. If she were to be deluded by it within the dream, things would get very difficult. So, we’ll have some Observatory members investigate first."

As he spoke, Liu Wufeng selected the longest stick from the row of Dream-Entering Incense and offered it to Shen Bai.

"What do you say? Want to give it a try? This is a difficult mission, so it’s assigned to members of the Jia Division. You’re a Ding Shou, so a task like this normally wouldn’t fall to you, but I can make an exception."

Members of the Jia and Yi Divisions all possessed the strength of the Meridian Realm, a major watershed for cultivators.

In Fenglin State, they were considered true masters.

Assigning such a mission to Jia Division members was reasonable, since it was just a reconnaissance task.

As for why people like Elder Mu weren’t going in, Liu Wufeng had just explained they were concerned that someone too powerful entering the Dream Realm might have adverse effects.

Shen Bai looked at the incense stick Liu Wufeng was offering. After a moment of thought, he took it.

Anything involving the supernatural always piqued Shen Bai’s interest.

A Nightmare was a supernatural entity, and it could provide Evil Qi. Setting that benefit aside for a moment...

More importantly, this Nightmare was very likely a trap meant for him.

Shen Bai wasn’t one to ignore a potential lead.

"Alright. Gather at the Observatory tonight. We’ll light the Dream-Entering Incense together then and enter Landlord Long’s Dream Realm to see what’s going on," Liu Wufeng said.

Shen Bai agreed and put the Dream-Entering Incense away.

It was still early.

Now that he understood the situation, Shen Bai didn’t linger. He bid farewell, left the Observatory, and headed for the blacksmith’s shop.

He planned to buy two sets of essential blacksmithing equipment.

This included tools for a forge and for quenching, as well as a smithing hammer.

He’d put one set in the Martial Arts Arena and the other at home, so he could grind away whenever he wanted.

As for fuel for the forge, there was plenty to be had.

This kept Shen Bai busy until the afternoon, by which time he had finally gathered everything he needed.