"Oh?"
"Are you threatening me?"
Faced with Xiao Nan's threat, Old White Ape seemed rather calm, neither hurried nor agitated. Instead, he looked at Xiao Nan with amusement.
But Xiao Nan shook his head slightly. "I'm a timid person. I never threaten anyone."
"Threaten someone, and they'll only hold a grudge, take revenge, or even make you die for no apparent reason one day."
"So I think threatening people is a very stupid thing to do."
Old White Ape nodded lightly. "Even more interesting."
"I admit I did underestimate you before."
"But what if your judgment was wrong, and this... is still an illusion?"
Xiao Nan's expression remained unchanged. "Life is always a gamble. Win, and you rake in a fortune. Lose, and the worst that can happen is death. Since I want something for nothing, I naturally have to bear the consequences of failure. That's fair."
As he spoke, Xiao Nan took another step forward, moving a little closer to Old White Ape.
"I see my former self in you."
"Though you're covered in sharp thorns, I happen to enjoy dancing on a knife's edge."
"Here's to... a happy partnership."
Old White Ape, who had been sitting on Giant Rock all this time, finally rose slowly to his feet. He regarded Xiao Nan as an equal, then extended his right hand. "This should be a common courtesy among your Human Race..."
Their hands clasped, both wearing smiles, looking very friendly.
"The hair on your hand isn't as prickly as I imagined."
Xiao Nan spoke with a smile.
Old White Ape smiled back. "I take fairly good care of it."
For some time afterward, the two kept discussing something beside Giant Rock.
The Demon Beasts only dared to watch from afar, not daring to approach.
Of course, from their perspective,