The sharp pain in his neck woke him. He was lying on a cold floor, hands tied behind his back.

Where was he? He struggled to remember. He had been on a night hunt with the juniors, the cave...and Chang Chao.

Why did the boy knock him out? Who was he? He tried to sit up but he lacked the upper body strength, so he rolled onto his back. A warmth came from his right hand side, so he looked.

Jiang Cheng!

He was lying next to him, unmoving. Wei Ying shuffled his body as close as he could, and rocked into him.

"Jiang Cheng!" He whispered. His throat hurt, and now he was lying on his arm, it was beginning to throb. "Jiang Cheng?" A little louder.

Wei Ying wasn't sure if anybody else could hear him.

Footsteps alerted him to the person entering. He was hauled up and thrown onto chair. He was surprised to see the boy.

"Why, Chang Chao? Why did you knock me out?" Wei Ying looked around. They were in a cave. "Where are we?"

"You have a lot of questions." His voice was no longer that of an innocent child, earnest and friendly. It was a harsh tone to match the expression on his face.

Wei Ying did not like this person as much.

"In case you didn't hear me, my full name is Min Chang Chao."

Wei Ying's eyes widened. All of this made so much sense now. He looked at Jiang Cheng's prone body on the floor and felt utter regret. Their 'secret' mission had been compromised from the very beginning.

"What's wrong with my brother?" Wei Ying tried to keep the fear out of his voice.

"Oh, him? My father was a little too... enthusiastic. He'll be fine." Chang Chao picked up a sharp dagger from the table next to him, running his finger along its keen edge. "He'll be here soon. I'm sure he has questions for you too."

"Why did you do it? I get that he's your father, but...you spent time with us. With me." Wei Ying couldn't quite believe he was here, with this boy, asking him this. The whole situation felt surreal.

"Why? Why did I betray you? That's what you're asking me." He put the dagger down and picked up something that looked crueler. A pair of blunt tongs. "I suppose you could blame my father, and...in a roundabout way, you'd be correct. But you don't know what it's like with us."

"What do you mean?" Wei Ying prodded Jiang Cheng's back discreetly with his foot, hoping Chang Chao wouldn't notice.

"My father was a devoted son. If there's anything he taught me, it is filial loyalty." He smirked, thinking about something.

"So you did all this, just because you love your father?" Wei Ying asked in disbelief.

"Love?" The boy suddenly shouted, flinging the tongs back onto the table, clashing noisily with the other tools. "What has love got to do with anything?"

"I thought you said this was all because of your father?" Wei Ying was confused.

"Love is the stupidest emotion there is. I said, I did it out of loyalty. There's a difference."

"Indeed." Wei Ying put a bit more force into his foot.

"My father grew up in a strict environment. His father, and his father before him, were all excellent dragon killers. He has a reputation to live up to." He walked around the table, fingers skimming over the surface. "But then, the cultivation world turned against us. Just who did they think they were? Just because they didn't like how we operate, they cast us out, made us unwanted. We became intolerable. We have been pushed into this state."

"Do you think it's right, to kill dragons?" Wei Ying felt disgusted.

"Right? Do I think it's right to kill these beasts, the same ones who killed my family? My mother and my sister were innocent!" He shouted that last word.

"I didn't know."

"I didn't expect you to! None of you cared about us. Do you know how different my life could have been, if I was born in Gusu? In Yunmeng? No. And you don't care. You have everything!" He kicked the table angrily. "We travelled a lot. Never staying in the same place twice, because my father was on a mission. His thirst for knowledge has finally paid off, but you!" He pointed at Wei Ying. "You got in the way!"

"It is wrong to kill so many creatures, especially when they are innocent." Wei Ying persisted. "You could have punished the one who killed your family, but a hundred and eight innocent lives is a crime."

"In your book. Our sect says different. And who are you to tell us we're wrong? Who cares what you think? Once my father completes the ritual in three nights, he will be unstoppable. We will be unstoppable."

"What exactly do you hope to accomplish?" Wei Ying saw Jiang Cheng stir slightly.

"It is this very ignorance that we are fighting against. You have no idea about how much power dragons wield. How we can harness that magic for ourselves. We can become so much better, greater than we are now." He laughed cruelly. "You know nothing."

"So let me get this straight." Wei Ying said, trying to keep his incredulously tone to a minimum. "Your father is going to perform a ceremony, killing that many dragons, become all powerful and so on."

"Yes."

"So what's in it for you?"

"What do you mean?" He stood straighter.

"It seems to me that your father will have all the benefits. So why are you doing this?"

Jiang Cheng moaned.

"Don't listen to him, son." Another voice said, sharply. "He's trying to sow discord." Min Qi Xue walked into the room, smiling madly.