"Don't worry,"
Mu Jinyu turned his head to glance at Wen Rou, giving her a reassuring look, and said,
"Currently, many people are at risk of being eroded by the Tide of Chaos, but you should be safe. After all, you have always been wearing the protective talismans I gave you. In theory, they should also block the erosion of the Tide of Chaos, so you needn't worry too much."
Upon hearing this, Wen Rou nodded somewhat absentmindedly, not saying much more but seemingly calmed down.
But she knew in her heart that Mu Jinyu was only saying they should not be eroded by the Tide of Chaos or have their memories altered; he did not guarantee that it absolutely would not happen.
It seemed that they should avoid getting too close to Mu Jinyu for the time being, before he had thoroughly investigated the Tide of Chaos, lest they harm him.
Mu Jinyu saw the concerned expressions on Wen Rou and Su Zijin and sighed inwardly, not saying anything further, instead continuing to speak with Mu Hongchen:
"In this current situation, I find it very difficult to trust too many people. However, Aunt Mu, your strength is formidable; it's highly unlikely that your memory will be altered by the Tide of Chaos anytime soon. So, in the future, many things might require your personal attention."
Mu Hongchen nodded and said, "That's not a problem."
As she spoke, she also felt a sigh of relief.
After all, Mu Jinyu had just recently attended the meeting of the Nine Great Organizations not long ago and learned much about demon-related information. Since he stated that her strength was formidable and implied that she won't be eroded by the Tide of Chaos even without a magical artifact, it was highly likely that she was safe.
Otherwise, she was afraid that she might have already been eroded by demon power, no longer herself, yet still believing she was.
Mu Jinyu continued, "Right, Aunt Mu, later, have someone renovate the underground storage room, completely replace the door and the room with gold to ensure that even if demons leak from the containment, they can't spread to other areas..."
"Then, assign the permission to open the door only to you and me for the time being. No one else, including Wu Shisan, will be able to enter..."
"Alright, I've got it..." Mu Hongchen felt a chill in her heart as she listened to Mu Jinyu's words, realizing that his move was entirely to guard against the possibility of traitors infested by demon power within the Dragon King Hall.
The two continued to discuss various detailing change strategies, and before long, there was a knocking at the door.
"Knock knock."
Mu Jinyu paused his conversation with Mu Hongchen and called out, "Come in."
"Dragon Master, I'm back."
The person who entered was the young man who had just left the underground storage room and parted ways with Mu Jinyu.
At this moment, his right calf was tightly bound by a gold shackle, making him move uncomfortably and causing him to limp when he walked.
This was a suggestion from Mu Jinyu; after all, the Omniscient Li Yaotong and their ilk would be arriving shortly, but they had not yet found a method to contain the demon erosion. All they could do for the time being was to use gold to make a binding ring, to see if it could slow down the corruption of his right foot.
"How does it feel?"
Mu Jinyu glanced at the golden ring on the young man's foot, which actually looked quite stylish, and asked softly.
"Not too good, but it seems like the spread of the corruption has indeed slowed down," the young man replied.
"Then that's good," Mu Jinyu nodded slightly, then, as if remembering something, added, "By the way, I still don't know your name?"
The young man gave a shy smile and said, "Dragon Master, my name is Wang Hu—'Wang' as in the word for a cur, and 'Hu' as in tiger."
"Pfft!"
Mu Jinyu couldn't help but laugh out loud at his self-introduction.
Su Zijin and the others felt the same, thinking that Wang Hu was quite amusing.
At that moment, "Knock knock!"
The knocking sounded again.
"Come in," Mu Jinyu called out.
The door was opened again.
Then, a group of about a dozen people came in.
They were the same team Mu Jinyu had sent to carry the coffin that day.
They had recently resisted a Zombie Demon, and Dragon King Hall, fearing that its members would become exhausted and collapse after prolonged battles with demons, allowed them to rest. So as soon as they received Mu Jinyu's notification, they immediately rushed over.
"Dragon Master, do you have any tasks for us?" one of them asked.
Mu Jinyu did not answer but looked towards the person whose hand had been cut that day, showing black blood. With a flick of his finger, a strand of Sword Qi shot out, cutting open his skin again.
"Hiss!"
Another strand of black blood oozed out from the cut on his skin.
"It hasn't healed yet? It seems that the Gold Inlaid Jade Magical Instrument can only temporarily suppress the infection of the Tide of Chaos; it can't eliminate the Demon Power inside the body," Mu Jinyu murmured softly, lowering his gaze and withdrawing his look.
"However, this is still somewhat good. At least it stabilizes the situation. If we completely find the Tide of Chaos and suppress it, I guess everyone could return to normal. Removing the Magic Artifact without worrying about sudden demonization would also be possible."
After a slight shake of his head, Mu Jinyu looked at the slightly uneasy victims of the Tide of Chaos and said, "When the Golden Coffin that sealed the Zombie Demon was placed into the storage room, were you the last one to come out?"
His question was directed not only at that person but also at the other members of the small team.
"No," the man shook his head, "I was the first one out. The last person I remember coming out was Ah-Huang…"
"Ah-Huang?" Mu Jinyu's voice raised slightly.
The rest also turned their gaze to a pale-faced young man, saying in unison:
"Right, Da Bai didn't lie. I also remember that the last one to come out was Ah-Huang."
"Yes, at that time, Ah-Huang even stood in front of the Golden Coffin, swayed a few times as if he was going to fall from lack of oxygen, and we even joked about his weak constitution."
"Dragon Master, why do you ask this? Is there an issue with how the Golden Coffin was placed, or something else?"
Mu Jinyu did not immediately answer their question but instead looked at the young man named Ah-Huang. With a flick of his finger, another strand of Sword Qi shot out, cutting into Ah-Huang's skin.
Blood flowed out, a bright red color.
If looking at blood problems after being eroded by demons, it was clear that Ah-Huang was problem-free.
Instead, it was Da Bai, who had pointed him out, with the black blood, who had the problem.
But...
Mu Jinyu then shot out several more strands of Sword Qi, cutting a small slit in the skin of everyone's hand present.
All bright red blood.
It couldn't be that those who supposedly had no issues were all lying in collusion with him, could it?
It seemed that the degree of erosion by the Tide of Chaos was indeed a bit more severe than the Tide of Chaos, at least to the extent that it could not be detected.
Thinking this, Mu Jinyu looked at Ah-Huang and said, "They all say you were the last to come out. Do you have anything to say about this?"
"Nothing," Ah-Huang said. "I indeed was the last one to come out, but Dragon Master, why do you ask these questions? Is it that we didn't manage something properly?"
Towards the end, his tone became somewhat tentative.
It wasn't the guilty conscience of someone about to be exposed for wrongdoing but the nervousness of not knowing exactly what one might have done wrong.