Chapter 344 - Revealing the truth

Chapter 344: Chapter 344 - Revealing the truth

By nightfall, the mansion was barely recognizable.

The blood was gone from the floors, the dust wiped from the shelves, and the furniture had been dragged back into something close to order. Yunfeng’s arms ached from hauling and scrubbing, and Jai had long since given up pretending he wasn’t tired. They worked without much talking after that first strange question, the rhythm of wet cloth against wood filling the silence between them.

Yunfeng stood in the entryway and looked over what they’d done. It wasn’t perfect—the smell of old blood still clung faintly to the air, and a few of the rugs were beyond saving—but it was livable. It was a place they could sleep.

Jai wiped his hands dry and stretched his back with a wince. "I’m heading back with Shinju and Kailun. We’ll take the mansion next door."

"Jai’s place," Yunfeng said, and Jai smirked.

"Apparently. You really did pick the two houses closest to each other, huh?"

Yunfeng didn’t answer that. He just walked his friend to the door.

Outside, the yard was dark. Shinju and Kailun were waiting by the gate, their bags over their shoulders, the bodies already moved off to the side for later. Kailun gave Yunfeng a short nod. Shinju waved, then turned and led the way toward the neighboring mansion, its dark shape rising against the night sky.

Jai paused on the step. "Hey."

Yunfeng looked at him.

"You gonna tell me what that question was about?"

"Maybe," Yunfeng said. "Later."

Jai snorted and followed the others. Yunfeng watched until the three of them disappeared through the far door, then shut the gate behind them.

When he turned around, his mother was standing in the hallway.

Jinju had already started making herself useful. She had found a broom from somewhere and was sweeping the last of the mess toward the door, her movements calm and unhurried. Hana came out of a side room with a stack of clean blankets in her arms and gave Yunfeng a tired smile.

"Zei and Yuki are staying too," Hana said. "Yuki didn’t want to be alone in a strange house."

Zei appeared a second later, the little girl trailing behind him with her pet monkey perched on her shoulder. The monkey’s tiny hands were wrapped around her collar, its wide eyes darting around the hallway as if it expected the dead to come walking through the walls.

Zei let out a long, low whistle as he stepped inside.

"Well, damn." He turned in a slow circle, taking in the high ceiling and the wide staircase. "Look at this place. Yunfeng, you’re loaded. I always knew you had money, but this is a whole mansion."

"It’s not that big," Yunfeng said, brushing it off as he picked up a rag.

"Not that big," Zei repeated, grinning. "It’s got two floors and more rooms than we have people. Man, my family lived in a flat the size of this entryway." He nudged Yuki lightly. "You hear that? We’re staying in a rich kid’s mansion. Sleep with both eyes closed tonight, alright? Nobody’s gonna eat you here."

Yuki giggled and hugged the monkey tighter. The little animal chirped at Yunfeng, and he found himself almost smiling.

Once the place was clean enough to sit in, they gathered in the dining room. The food was laid out across the long table—the rice, the cans, the vacuum-sealed meat, the dried fruit, everything they had hauled in from the stash. Jinju put out plates and bowls like it was an ordinary family dinner.

When everyone sat down, no one moved at first. They just stared.

Then Zei grabbed the first can, popped it open, and that was it. The table came alive. Hands reached across for food, spoons scraped against bowls, and for the first time in months, nobody was measuring their portions. There was more than enough. There was enough to eat until they were full and then some.

Zei groaned around a mouthful of rice. "I forgot what being full felt like."

Hana laughed, which was rare for her. Jinju served Yuki extra without being asked. Even the monkey got a piece of dried fruit and ate it with both hands, cheeks bulging.

Yunfeng ate too, but his attention kept drifting.

Across the table, Muchen was picking at his meal.

His lover had been quiet since the bedroom. He had eaten maybe three bites, pushing the rest around his plate with his chopsticks, and every few seconds his heavy eyes would lift and settle on Yunfeng. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to.

Yunfeng could read the question in them. It was the same one from before. When are you going to tell me?

He looked away and took another bite, but it didn’t help. The food had lost its taste.

So this was it, then. Tonight.

After dinner, they cleared the table and split the rooms. Jinju and Hana took one side of the hall, Zei and Yuki the other, the monkey curled up in Yuki’s arms the moment she lay down. Everyone was exhausted. Within minutes, the mansion had gone quiet except for the soft creak of the old walls.

Yunfeng stood at the end of the hallway and looked at the door to the room where Muchen was waiting.

His heart beat a little faster.

He had stalled long enough. Muchen had given him all the time in the world, and he had used every second of it to avoid this one conversation. But his lover was patient, not blind. He had seen the food, the weapons, the way Yunfeng knew things he shouldn’t. Sooner or later, Muchen would stop letting him dodge the question.

Sooner had come.

Yunfeng exhaled, pushed open the door, and stepped inside.

Muchen was sitting on the edge of the bed, the blanket pulled around his shoulders. He looked up when Yunfeng entered, and for a long moment, neither of them spoke.

Then Muchen patted the space beside him.

"Come sit."

Yunfeng crossed the room and sat down. The mattress dipped under his weight, and their shoulders almost touched.

"Okay," Muchen said quietly. "I waited all day. Tell me the truth, Yunfeng."

Yunfeng stared at his own hands, folded in his lap. He had imagined this moment a hundred times and never once found the right words. Now there was no more running.

"I’m not from here," he began, his voice low. "Not the way you think." ℯ

Muchen watched him, waiting.

Yunfeng took a breath.

"I came from the future."