Huang Wen was unaware of Gaston's plot, and even if he knew, he wouldn't have cared. After all, if a mere musket could deal with Huang Wen, then Charles and Magneto would probably jump out of their wheelchairs at the same time.
"I envy you, being able to travel to so many places, and there are still so many more places to go…" Belle said, looking at Huang Wen with a hint of envy as she listened to his stories.
"Why don't you go out yourself?" Huang Wen's eyes flickered as he asked Belle, "Aren't you dreaming of going out and seeing the world? Have you never thought of leaving this place?"
"I can't leave my father; he's never lived alone," Belle sighed softly. "He's getting older now, so sometimes I feel lost…"
"Hiss! Hiss!" Just then, a horse's hooves sounded outside the door, along with the somewhat weary panting of Philippe.
"Father, Father's back!" Belle quickly stood up, hiding her regret, and ran out to greet her father. But to Belle's disappointment, only Philippe was tiredly eating grass; Maurice was nowhere to be seen.
"Philippe, where's Father?" Belle, somewhat flustered, ran to Philippe and asked.
"Something must have happened in that forest again. I'll go with you!" Huang Wen walked out of the house. It seemed he had saved Maurice for nothing; everything was back to square one.
"No need…" Belle subconsciously wanted to refuse Huang Wen.
"Don't forget, I just defeated the strongest person in your village!" Huang Wen stepped forward and said with a smile, "And since I can travel the world alone, I naturally have some means of self-preservation. If we encounter any danger, I can help!"
"Alright, let's go!" Belle hesitated for a moment, then directly mounted the horse and extended her hand to Huang Wen, "Come, let's go together…"
"This…" A hint of embarrassment suddenly flashed across Huang Wen's face. He glanced at Belle's curvaceous figure and felt his heart rate accelerate for a moment. So he quickly shook his head, "You can ride the horse yourself; I run very fast!"
"You're actually shy?" Belle looked at Huang Wen with a surprised expression, then laughed openly, "I don't even care, what are you afraid of? Besides, how can a person run as fast as a horse… quickly…"
Before Belle could finish her sentence, she saw Huang Wen turn into an afterimage and rush out, directly to the village entrance. Belle's beautiful eyes blinked in a daze, but then she heard Huang Wen say, "Alright, have I proven that I run fast enough? Let's go?"
"Oh!" Belle snapped back to reality. She knew now wasn't the time to investigate this, so she quickly flicked the reins, caught up with Huang Wen, and then watched as Huang Wen and Philippe maintained the same speed. A curious light flickered in Belle's eyes. "How do you do that?"
"This is called Qinggong; it's a type of kung fu," Huang Wen maintained such a high speed without any heavy panting, not even rapid breathing, and his face wasn't flushed.
"How amazing! No wonder you've been to so many places," Belle said with some emotion.
Before long, Huang Wen and Belle entered the forest. Philippe led Belle and Huang Wen all the way to the rose garden before stopping.
"It seems Maurice must have been picking roses for you here, and these roses here must have an owner!" Huang Wen looked towards the Baroque-style castle. "Let's go, let's go in and see what's going on!"
"Okay!" Belle took a deep breath as she looked at the castle in front of her, wanting to find a stick to bolster her courage.
"With me here, you won't have to lift a finger," Huang Wen shook his head with a smile. He had already sensed Maurice's location; at this moment, Maurice was a bit disheveled, but everything else was normal.
"Thank you…" Belle followed behind Huang Wen and entered the fortress. The fortress was empty at this time, with no one in sight.
"Oh my, look, it's a beauty!" Lumière the candelabra's eyes lit up when he saw Belle.
"I see her. My hands are broken, but my eyes aren't!" Cogsworth the clock's hands spun.
"Do you think she could be the one who can break the curse?" Lumière the candelabra's eyes flickered with longing.
"Are you blind? Don't you see she has a male companion?" Cogsworth the clock said grumpily.
"We can scare her male companion away…" Lumière the candelabra suggested.
"What was that sound!" Belle heard the commotion and turned her head towards the source of the sound, but the two talking objects had already hidden themselves.
"Roar!" Lumière the candelabra roared and pounced on Huang Wen, trying to scare him away, but was sent flying by a single punch from Huang Wen.
"Clang!"
"This is…?" Belle turned her head and, somewhat frightened, moved closer to Huang Wen. She saw Lumière the candelabra lying on the ground, not daring to move.
"It's nothing, just a restless fellow. Let's go find your father," Huang Wen shook his head with a smile and walked up the dark stairs. Belle looked at the candelabra on the ground, ultimately didn't pick it up, and instead quickly walked forward and grabbed Huang Wen's sleeve.
"Hmm!" Huang Wen's body trembled slightly, and he opened his mouth. The sudden contact made him a little unaccustomed, but Huang Wen quickly calmed down and continued upstairs with Belle.
"Father!" After going upstairs, Belle immediately saw the disheveled Maurice in the cell and quickly grabbed Maurice's cold hands. "Father, your hands are so cold!"
"Belle, why are you here? Huang Wen? Did you bring Belle here? Quickly take her away, leave this place! This castle is alive!" Maurice saw Huang Wen by his side and shouted in a panic.
"If you don't come out now, I'll take him away," Huang Wen said with a faint smile, shaking his head, and looked towards the shadows. With Huang Wen's eyesight, even without sensing, he could spot the Beast hiding there.
"You can't take him away! He stole my rose; he needs to pay the price!" The Beast stepped out and glared at Huang Wen fiercely, saying.
"Alright, stop pretending. Wasn't his stealing the rose your intention?" Huang Wen scoffed, holding back Belle who was about to speak. "I've heard your story, Prince Beast. I also know that you've been hiding in the shadows, just waiting for him to pick the rose, and then you'd capture him. Otherwise, you could have stopped him completely…"
"You're talking nonsense! I only caught this thief after I found him picking the rose!" The Beast's expression changed slightly, and he bellowed in a deep voice, "He stole my rose, and he will pay the price for it!"