After a brief catch-up with the Yu Family, Lin Family, and Shen Family, and a quick interrogation based on the collected data, Mu Jinyu took his leave when he found no issues with them.
He was simply too busy.
Although he hadn't seen these old acquaintances for a long time and wanted to chat with them more, the current situation didn't allow him to waste any more time.
Watching Mu Jinyu's departing figure,
Lin Qiaoxia, Yu Linglong, and Shen Shuyao couldn't help but show a hint of disappointment and sorrow in their eyes.
...
Leaving the family building, Mu Jinyu went straight to Mu Hongchen's office.
Entering the office, Mu Hongchen was already sitting in her chair, staring at the screen, tapping away at the keyboard, busy with work.
It wasn't clear whether she had come in early to work or had been up all night.
However, judging from her slightly weary demeanor, she had probably been working overnight.
"Aunt Mu, did you work all through last night?"
Mu Jinyu couldn't help frowning as he spoke.
"Ah?"
Mu Hongchen seemed to notice Mu Jinyu's presence only then, briefly stunned before turning to look outside the window; although it was morning, it was still pitch-black outside.
The blue-black haze that now filled the sky had turned to pure black, making it impossible to distinguish day from night in the world.
Mu Hongchen raised her watch to check the time and, realizing it was already past nine in the morning, she tiredly rubbed her temples and said, "I'm sorry, Dragon Master, I got carried away and worked until dawn."
She, of course, wanted to rest too.
But there were so many matters to deal with at Dragon King Hall, and they were understaffed after losing so many people; many things were beyond Mu Jinyu's understanding, and naturally, the burden had fallen entirely on her shoulders.
That's why she had been caught up with official duties until now.
"You should get some rest sooner rather than later. There are many things you don't need to bother with; you can just ignore them. Right now, what we at Dragon King Hall need to deal with most are the demon issues, not the management of magical artifacts,"
Mu Jinyu said with a hint of helplessness.
"I understand, I will try to neglect these trivial matters in the future," Mu Hongchen replied apologetically.
Seeing her like this, Mu Jinyu knew she hadn't really listened and, with a sigh of resignation, said, "Never mind, Aunt Mu, go rest. If there's anything, leave it to me and my mom."
"But..." Mu Hongchen was about to say that the Dragon Master didn't really know how to handle many official duties.
But Mu Jinyu continued, "Don't worry, I know I might not be a very qualified Tiance True Dragon, and there's a lot I don't understand, but my mom, as the Saintess of Dragon King Hall, should still be capable of handling some official duties. Let her teach Xiyan and Wen Rou. Afterward, they and you can take turns on duty, so you don't have to be so exhausted."
Hearing Mu Jinyu's suggestion, Mu Hongchen thought it wasn't a bad idea, but... it felt somewhat improper, didn't it?
Mu Jinyu, seeing what Mu Hongchen was thinking, persuaded her, "Don't feel embarrassed about it. If you collapse from exhaustion, I won't be able to deal with these matters, and they will still fall on their shoulders in the end. After all, in the entire Dragon King Hall, the number of people we can be sure haven't had their memories tampered with is just the few of you."
Mu Hongchen was silent for a moment and then smiled, "Then I'll have to trouble the Dragon Master, I'll go rest now."
"Mm." Mu Jinyu extended his hand, "Leave your phone behind. You shouldn't be bothered with whatever comes up; I'll handle it."
"Okay." Mu Hongchen handed over her phone to Mu Jinyu and left, yawning.
After Mu Hongchen left.
Mu Jinyu sat in her original spot, registering the various demon-related materials that were sent from all over. Then, from time to time, Mu Hongchen's phone would ring, with some influential figures asking her for the Gold Inlaid Jade Magical Instrument.
Mu Jinyu spoke to them directly and unapologetically, saying there were none available.
He knew that among these people, there were many with status and position, and in many cases even Dragon King Hall could not simply ignore them.
This was also the reason why Mu Hongchen, upon receiving their calls, had to repeatedly weigh the pros and cons before considering how to tactfully refuse or arrange for someone to deliver the artifacts to them, wasting quite a bit of effort.
If every case were like this, the wasted energy would be considerable.
However, Mu Jinyu didn't care about these matters; the majority of these people were virtually useless in the current era of darkness and turmoil. Those who were useful had generally received their magical instruments promptly. Those who hadn't received them yet were mostly of the kind that had been abandoned.
If there were more sufficient magical instruments, then they might consider them.
So, for now, he could simply refuse them all.
After discussing with the experts of the two major organizations on how to mass-produce the Gold Inlaid Jade Magical Instruments, they would then see if they wanted to distribute them to these individuals!
Having registered the relevant information of about a dozen demons he had just learned about, Mu Jinyu began contacting his subordinates, instructing them to pay attention to those who had come in contact with demons but had not, and who had managed to harness some of the Demon Power.
If they found any, they were to invite them to Dragon King Hall and promise them the Gold Inlaid Jade Magical Instrument.
After passing on this information.
Mu Jinyu frowned and fell into deep thought.
The temptation of the Gold Inlaid Jade's magical instrument alone might not be enough to make them swear allegiance to Dragon King Hall, and the so-called righteousness, to restore the world to a bright and orderly state, was just empty talk to fool people. If there weren't any incentives, why would anybody risk their life for you?
Mu Jinyu started considering how much salary a Demon Whisperer who joined Dragon King Hall should receive each month, how much authority over certain areas they should have, and rewards determined by the level of threat posed by the demon disturbance they resolved...
Thinking about it gave him a bit of a headache, so in the end, Mu Jinyu called Su Zijin and Gu Xiyan to come over.
With nothing much to do, Su Zijin and the rest arrived quickly after receiving a call from Mu Jinyu.
After Mu Jinyu shared the problems he was considering with them, they began to discuss amongst themselves.
For example, after joining Dragon King Hall, depending on the ability of the Demon Whisperers, decide how much gold they should get each month, along with Gold Inlaid Jade Magical Instruments, and when a safer method of controlling two demons is developed, those Demon Whisperers with more contributions could be given priority to try controlling a second demon.
After all, simply harnessing the power of one demon, without the counterbalance of another, means the more you use the Demon Power, the more likely it is that the demon will erode all the Qi-Blood in your body, likely leading to a quick death!
At that time, controlling a second demon to achieve internal balance could actually prolong life.
Thus, certain individuals who were quite hostile to the officials might not have a choice but to work for them for the sake of survival.
And they didn't necessarily need these people to join Dragon King Hall; they could simply be assigned to protect a city each, ensuring the safety of that city, named as "City God," right?
"City God, huh?" Mu Jinyu, hearing the proposal from Mei Yinxue, showed a contemplative look, and finally nodded, "Mhm, not bad, they don't need to join Dragon King Hall, as long as they're willing to be City Gods, we would still ensure their safety first!"
"Dinglingling!"
At that moment, Mu Jinyu's cell phone rang.
He looked at the caller ID and then answered the call.
"Hello, Dragon Master? The Xuanwu Hall Master has returned, but he…"