You scoundrel!" Gaston roared, lunging at Huang Wen, intending to lift him and slam him to the ground to assert his authority.
Soon, Gaston got what he wished for, though it wasn't him lifting Huang Wen and slamming him to the ground, but rather being lifted by Huang Wen and slammed to the ground.
"This... how is this possible?" Lying on the ground, Gaston found it hard to accept this reality. He was, after all, the strongest man in the village; he could even lift a two-hundred-pound Fat Man with one hand. But now, he had been knocked down by a stranger, right in front of Belle, the girl he liked most.
"Oh! My goodness, how did you do that?" Belle also looked at Huang Wen in surprise. She, too, couldn't believe that Huang Wen had defeated Gaston, the strongest man in the village.
"Stranger! You will pay for your actions!" Gaston quickly got up from the ground, glared fiercely at Huang Wen, but didn't rush forward to fight him again. Instead, he turned and ran away, like a child who had been wronged.
"What, aren't you going to invite me in?" Huang Wen turned, looking at the somewhat dazed Belle, and asked with a smile.
"Oh, please... come in!" Belle snapped out of it, glanced at the windmill in her hand, quickly nodded, and led Huang Wen into the house. "Please wait a moment, I'll pour you some water..."
"Okay, thank you." Huang Wen smiled, watched Belle turn to pour water, and tapped his watch. "Silly Girl, where in France is this place? Why is it so backward? Silly Girl?"
"Temporal anomaly detected, Silly Girl is calculating the cause." Silly Girl was silent for a moment, then gave an answer that surprised Huang Wen. "The fluctuation you discovered earlier, Boss, is essentially similar to the fluctuation in the forest, but it has added temporal abilities. Because Boss doesn't possess temporal abilities, you didn't notice the difference..."
"Which means, this place not only has spatial magic, but also temporal magic. It's a spacetime bound by magic, and its coordinates overlap with the world Boss is in. That's why Boss crossed over here when the fluctuation appeared."
"Was I tricked by the Ancient One?" A thought flashed through Huang Wen's mind subconsciously, but he quickly dismissed it. After all, the Ancient One had just met him and seemed friendly.
Moreover, even if the Ancient One wanted to act, there was no need to go through so many detours. After all, the Ancient One wasn't afraid of him; if she wanted to deal with him, she would just act directly.
"Hello, I haven't asked your name yet." Soon, Belle walked up to Huang Wen with a cup of water. "Where are you from? How do you know my father? And why are you so powerful?"
"My name is Huang Wen, and I'm traveling the world. I happened to be nearby earlier and met Maurice. We got along quite well, so he invited me to his home as a guest." Huang Wen came back to his senses, smiling as he omitted the part about saving Maurice.
"Traveling the world?" Belle's interest was immediately piqued, her bright eyes fixed on Huang Wen. "You're traveling the world? I'm so envious of you. I've never been anywhere since I was born..."
"I've always wanted to see the world; it's the life I've dreamed of. Can you tell me all the places you've been?"
"Of course! I haven't really explored much of Europe yet, but I've been to South America, Antarctica, Australia, and Asia..." Huang Wen nodded with a smile, listing them one by one.
"Antarctica? Is it really like the books say, filled with adorable penguins?" Belle's eyes grew even brighter as she looked directly into Huang Wen's eyes and asked.
"Adorable? Actually, 'clumsily cute' is a more fitting description for them. They'll be walking along perfectly fine and still trip, and even the fish they've finally caught in their mouths will accidentally slip out..." Huang Wen picked out some of the more positive behaviors of penguins to describe.
"Clumsily cute? What a fitting description, haha..." Belle listened to Huang Wen's description and found the term 'clumsily cute' to be incredibly apt for what he described.
While Huang Wen and Belle were chatting happily, things weren't so cheerful on the other two fronts. First, there was Maurice, who had returned to the forest to pick a rose for Belle.
Only after stepping onto that land did Maurice realize that night had fallen again. But to bring Belle the rose she loved, Maurice resolutely went to the edge of the rose garden and picked a single rose.
Just then, a massive monster emerged from the shadows, full of rage, and seized the returning thief, throwing him into a prison. Maurice's horse, named Philippe, took the opportunity to escape and galloped towards Belle's house.
As for the other side, it was Gaston, who had been knocked to the ground by Huang Wen and lost face. He returned to the tavern in a huff, and his crony, LeFou, quickly ran over.
"Gaston, who made you so angry? Did Belle reject you again?" LeFou patted Gaston's shoulder and asked with a smile.
"Not just Belle, but also a despicable stranger!" Gaston said, gritting his teeth. "He used despicable means to knock me down in front of Belle, making me lose all face!"
"What? Gaston, you were defeated? How is that possible? Gaston, you're so strong, possessing such immense power, how could you lose to a stranger?" As Gaston's number one henchman, LeFou naturally understood what Gaston meant. He looked at Gaston in disbelief and asked.
"Yes, I lost. I don't even know why I fell to the ground. In just a split second, I felt my body lose control..." Gaston gritted his teeth, his voice lowered.
"This matter must absolutely not be known by anyone else in the village!" A ruthless glint flashed in LeFou's eyes. "Gaston, your prestige in the village must not be affected!"
"You... do you have any good ideas?" Gaston's pupils constricted, and he asked in a low voice.
"A musket! We'll find an opportunity to quietly get rid of him, wouldn't that solve it?" LeFou leaned close to Gaston and suggested.
"Right! No matter how strong he is, he doesn't have a musket. When it gets dark, we can deal with him!" Gaston took a deep breath, a flicker of determination in his eyes. "Then, Belle will only have me to choose from!"
"And that old Maurice! Always so crazy and rambling. Belle is only like this because of his influence. If he dies too, then a helpless Belle will no longer be able to refuse me!"