As the Beast uttered those words, his massive body emerged from the shadows, startling Belle. To her, the Beast was a terrifying monster. Instinctively, Belle moved closer to Huang Wen, who offered her a sense of security.
This Beast was originally a prince, living in a magnificent castle. Despite having everything, he was selfish and ruthless. He levied taxes on the village, adorned his castle with the most lavish items, and commanded all finely dressed people to attend his parties.
One night, an uninvited guest entered the castle. She sought shelter from the bitter cold and offered the prince a rose as a gift. However, the prince was disgusted by her ragged and ugly appearance, so he and everyone else burst into mocking laughter, preparing to drive her away, and even threw the rose on the ground.
But unexpectedly, the appearance of this uninvited guest was merely a disguise. She was a beautiful and enchanting sorceress. She saw through the prince's empty and cold heart, and so she transformed him into an ugly Beast and cast a powerful spell over the castle, sparing no one.
Thus, before Huang Wen stood this ugly Beast prince, and the castle's strange furniture. They were all originally people, and only when the prince, in his Beast form, found love, could this curse be broken.
Huang Wen looked at the Beast prince before him and couldn't help but think of the Beast from X-Men. However, the appearance of this Beast was completely different from the Beast in X-Men.
The Beast from X-Men was a blue-furred, humanoid lion, while this Beast was a humanoid lion, only with an extra pair of goat horns.
"So, what is the price?" Huang Wen raised an eyebrow, looking at the Beast and asking with a smile.
"He will be imprisoned here by me for life, or someone else will be imprisoned in his place for life!" The Beast glanced at Belle and Maurice, saying in a deep voice.
"No!" Belle's heart quickened, and she tried to step forward, but Huang Wen stopped her.
"Why not? I'm only imprisoning him for life; I haven't even made him suffer like me!" The Beast glared fiercely at Belle and said.
"No, no, no, you two are quite different. Maurice merely picked a rose from an abandoned castle, while you, on the other hand, coldly and arrogantly mocked someone and threw her gift to the ground. How can you two be the same?" Huang Wen shook his head with a smile and said softly.
"Actually, you want Belle to help you break the curse, don't you?"
"What nonsense are you talking about?" The Beast's gaze sharpened, and he instinctively took half a step back.
"Oh, I'm sorry, perhaps I spoke incorrectly!" Huang Wen suddenly spread his hands apologetically to the Beast, "Actually, whether it's Belle or not doesn't matter to you, as long as a young and beautiful woman can fall in love with you and lift your curse, right?"
"You're lying!" The Beast roared at Huang Wen.
With a "poof!", Huang Wen directly threw something into the roaring Beast's mouth. The Beast had no time to react and swallowed the item directly, then covered his throat with some surprise and doubt.
"Huang Wen, what did you give him to eat?" Belle looked at Huang Wen with some hesitation, "Why does he look like he's in pain?"
"He's just a little choked," Huang Wen shook his head with a smile and explained softly, "What I gave him is called a Truth-Telling Bean Bun. Anyone who eats it will speak honestly for five minutes and answer any questions."
"That's so magical?" Belle's eyes widened, and she looked at the Beast and asked, "I ask you, is your capture of my father as Huang Wen said?"
"Yes... but I just want to break this curse and return to my original form. I was once a handsome prince, but now I've become an ugly Beast..." The Beast instantly spoke his true thoughts.
"I ask you, have you ever harmed anyone before? Or rather, have you ever captured other people and brought them to this castle?" Huang Wen pondered for a moment and asked.
"Ever since I became this appearance, I no longer dared to harm anyone. I did indeed use various excuses to bring others to the castle. Although I ultimately failed, I didn't harm them. I imprisoned them for a period of time and then released them..." The Beast truthfully recounted his experiences.
"Considering that you haven't taken anyone's life, I won't forcibly take Maurice away." Huang Wen glanced at Belle out of the corner of his eye and said to the Beast, "I will take them away, and in exchange, I will tell you the true method to break the curse. How about it?"
"Really?" The Beast widened his eyes and looked at Huang Wen, "Do you really have a way to break the curse?"
"Are you willing to make this trade?" Huang Wen looked directly into the Beast's eyes. At this moment, the effect of the Truth-Telling Bean Bun had not yet worn off. "If you are willing, then the matter between Maurice and Belle regarding the rose will be over!"
"I am willing!" The Beast hurriedly nodded, "As long as you are willing to tell me the method, I am willing to do anything!"
"Actually, you've been looking in the wrong direction from the start. You shouldn't be looking for beautiful women like Belle..." Huang Wen shook his head and analyzed seriously, "Even if you can make a beautiful woman like Belle fall in love with you, it only proves that she can see through your ugly appearance and doesn't judge by looks. But how does that prove anything about you?"
"Shouldn't you find an ordinary-looking girl, and you discover her inner beauty, and then fall in love with her? Only then can it prove that you have moved beyond judging by appearances and reached the level of discovering true goodness and beauty within, which would truly be your growth, right?"
"What he said makes so much sense..." The furniture people in the shadows heard Huang Wen's words and all agreed. Indeed, the reason the sorceress punished the prince was precisely because the Beast prince judged by appearances and looked down on the sorceress and her gift, wasn't it?
If the Beast prince continued to seek a beautiful woman, that wouldn't be the Beast prince's growth. It seemed that not only the Beast prince hadn't seen through this layer, but these furniture people hadn't either. They still subconsciously believed that only a beautiful woman could be worthy of the Beast prince.
Huang Wen heard the discussions of the surrounding furniture people, and the corners of his mouth curved slightly. Got it! He finally managed to trick them!
"It seems I was indeed mistaken. For all these years, I haven't truly grown. Thank you for your guidance. In return, I can release them!" The Beast thought deeply for a moment and was also successfully swayed by Huang Wen. Moreover, the Beast suddenly felt that an ordinary-looking woman probably wouldn't care too much about his appearance, and he would have an easier time succeeding.
But unfortunately, the Beast was mistaken...