Seeing the fear on Lu Fei's face, the woman with the black birthmark smirked coldly.
"Afraid now? Too late!"
She brought the bewitching incense to her lips and blew a puff of smoke toward Lu Fei.
*Whoosh!*
A dense, intoxicating aroma filled the air. The scent was similar to that of the human-faced eel but even more potent, as if distilled to its essence.
Lu Fei's eyes grew unfocused, and his body began to sway unsteadily.
"Turning you into livestock to feed my Hei Niang would be perfect!"
The woman laughed maliciously as she put away the incense and pulled out a dirty, tattered piece of sheepskin, stepping toward Lu Fei.
But just as she took her first step, a tall, dark figure appeared silently behind her.
With a heavy chop to the back of her neck, the woman froze, her eyes wide with disbelief, before collapsing limply to the ground.
"Tie her up!"
Lu Fei's seemingly dazed eyes suddenly sharpened, and he shouted as he swung the lightning-infused jujube wood stick toward the human-faced eel.
Throughout his interaction with the woman, Lu Fei had been keeping an eye on the eel.
The moment he started to sway, the eel poked its head out from beneath the cage, its pitch-black eyes gleaming with cruel anticipation. It opened its flat mouth, ready to tear into him.
As the woman fell, Lu Fei spun around in a flash, his strike connecting just as the eel tried to retreat.
*Zzzap!*
Blue arcs of electricity danced across the eel's slimy body. It stiffened momentarily before panicking and darting back under the cage.
Tiger rummaged through the scattered debris, finding a rope to tightly bind the unconscious woman. He even stuffed a filthy rag into her mouth for good measure.
"Hand me the salt," Lu Fei said, not letting his guard down for a moment.
"On it!" Tiger pulled several large packets of salt from his backpack and tossed them to Lu Fei.
Catching the packets, Lu Fei tore one open, his gaze fixed on the trembling eel under the cage. A cold smile spread across his face.
"Let's see where you run now."
He began scattering handfuls of salt onto the eel.
The ordinary salt reacted like acid on the creature's slimy skin, dissolving its mucus. The human-faced eel writhed in agony, its grotesque, human-like face contorting as it let out raspy, tormented cries.
Streams of water seeped from its thick body as it thrashed, desperately trying to escape, but it could no longer move.
Lu Fei continued to pour salt onto the eel, covering its entire body.
The mucus completely dissolved into water, leaving the eel motionless. It lay on the ground, its flat mouth opening and closing weakly like a dying fish.
"Ha! Run now, you disgusting thing!"
Tiger clapped his hands in satisfaction, unable to hide his glee.
Staying composed, Lu Fei used a stick to drag the eel out from under the cage.
The nearly two-meter-long, thigh-thick monstrosity looked like a massive, grotesque worm. Its pitch-black eyes were filled with terror as it feebly trembled, unable to flee.
A ring of dampness surrounded its eyes. Whether it was tears or water, Lu Fei didn't care.
No mercy for such a vile creature.
It was time to kill it.
Raising the lightning-infused jujube wood stick, Lu Fei channeled his spiritual power and brought it down hard on the eel's head.
*Zzzap! Zzzap! Zzzap!*
Without the protection of its mucus, the blue arcs of electricity surged across the eel's entire body.
*Hissss!*
From the water tank came the anguished cries of the other eels, as if they shared the pain.
But the sound lasted only a moment.
When the electrical charge faded, smoke curled from the eel's flat mouth. Its black eyes lost their luster, and its massive body twitched one last time before going still.
A charred, fishy aroma filled the air.
"Oh, God! That smell! I never want to eat fish again!"
Tiger waved his hand in front of his nose, the pungent stench making him queasy despite its apparent "savoriness."
Lu Fei exhaled deeply, the exertion leaving him slightly dizzy. He had used nearly all his spiritual energy in that strike.
But there was no time to rest.
"Let's free the lambs!" he called, quickly getting to work.
Together, they used bottles of mineral water to feed the lambs.
Then, something miraculous happened.
The dirty sheepskins fell away, revealing pale, youthful faces beneath.
"They're children! Real children!"
Tiger nearly jumped for joy.
Searching through the group, Lu Fei found the face from the missing child flyer. His heart finally settled.
The children were weak, some bearing injuries, but they were alive.
Thankfully, they were just in time.
Relief and happiness washed over Lu Fei.
"Boss, let's call Mr. Yu! He's going to be so happy when he hears we found the kids!" Tiger said, already pulling out his phone.
"No, call the police first. Getting the kids to the hospital is the priority," Lu Fei instructed.
"Right, right! I'll call now..." Tiger hesitated, looking around. "But how do we explain this to the cops? Isn't this breaking and entering?"
"That's easy. Just say we heard children crying for help and came in to investigate. Then we found them locked up here..."
As Lu Fei scanned the room, he noticed there were no cameras in the flat house.
Of course, someone committing such heinous crimes wouldn't install surveillance here.
But as his eyes drifted to the main door, he caught sight of a face peeking in.
Though the features weren't clear, the faint shine on the head was unmistakable.
It was the bald man.
Realizing he'd been seen, the bald man quickly turned and ran.
"Boss, I'll get him!"
Tiger immediately took off after him.
A skilled fighter, Tiger was faster than Lu Fei. The bald man wouldn't get far.
"Be careful, Tiger!"
Lu Fei called out before turning his attention back to the room. He reported to the police and then switched on the flat house lights.
What he saw made his stomach churn.
The murky water in the tank was filled with eels, all floating lifelessly. A nauseating stench of death permeated the air.
Their deaths were undoubtedly tied to the human-faced eel.
"Good riddance, you vile things," Lu Fei muttered, turning to the tied-up woman.
"Using live children to feed a monster—are you even human?"
He delivered a few hard kicks to the woman, waking her up, and pulled the rag from her mouth.
"Where did you learn the *Art of Creating Beasts*?"
"Hei Niang! You killed my Hei Niang! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"
The woman's cries were hysterical, her eyes fixated on the charred remains of the eel.
At that moment, Tiger returned, dragging the bald man behind him.
The bald man's face and clothes were covered in shoe prints. In Tiger's grip, he looked like a helpless chick.
"Husband!" the woman cried out in panic.