Douluo Dalu: Starting Evolution as the Man-Faced Demon Spider

South of Baishui City, outside a long-abandoned house, three children—around ten years old—snuck over, their faces filled with excitement and apprehension.

"Tang Lin'er, you're not really going in, are you?"

A slightly taller girl grabbed the hem of the leading girl's skirt, her eyes flickering with unease.

"What's there to be scared of? I've even seen a Man-Faced Demon Spider before—why would I be afraid of this?"

The girl, Tang Lin'er, yanked her skirt free and placed her hand on the door handle.

She wasn't very tall, so she had to stand on her tiptoes, stretching her arm almost twenty centimeters above her head just to reach it. Her entire body pressed against the door.

At this age, girls weren't particularly strong, and in her awkward stance, she couldn't exert much force.

Even with the aid of spirit power, she pushed several times, but the rotting wooden door remained motionless.

"Huzi, come help me!"

Seeing that she couldn't do it alone, she turned to the boy next to her for assistance.

Huzi hesitated.

He stood frozen for a long time, not daring to move.

"This is a haunted house! Sister Lin'er, let's just play somewhere else, okay?"

He clutched his clothes nervously, his expression full of reluctance.

This mansion was massive, once belonging to a prestigious family.

But twenty years ago, the entire household—thirty-three people—was massacred overnight.

Since then, rumors spread about eerie sightings near the residence.

At first, the whispers were confined to the southern district, but soon, the entire city knew of the "haunted mansion."

Even the children in nearby villages had heard the legend.

For twenty years, no one dared step inside.

But today, Tang Lin'er had heard about it—and she couldn't resist her curiosity.

Without hesitation, she dragged her two friends along, skipping class at Baishui City's Junior Spirit Master Academy.

And now—they were here.

"Scaredy-cat! Are you even a man?"

Tang Lin'er pouted, glaring at Huzi's cowardice.

Huzi glanced around, then looked back at Tang Lin'er.

After a long pause, he finally bit his lip and stepped forward.

He pressed his hands against her waist, pushing her with all the spirit power his Rank 9 self could muster.

Creak… creak…

The wooden door finally began to budge.

But the very next second—

CRASH!

The entire door collapsed backward, sending Tang Lin'er and Huzi tumbling down with it.

"AHHHHH!"

Huzi and the tall girl screamed.

Tang Lin'er, however, jumped back up as if nothing had happened, dusting herself off.

Her gaze swept across the courtyard before locking onto the largest building inside.

"Let's go."

She waved her hand and strode forward.

Huzi and the tall girl exchanged glances.

Their eyes were filled with fear—but also a hint of curiosity.

After a deep breath, they timidly followed her inside.

Inside the very same house…

Eight gleaming eyes snapped open.

Fang Chang confirmed that his "stealth" ability was still active and instinctively retreated further into the shadows.

Just moments ago, he had been asleep.

But the loud crash of the door had jolted him awake.

At first, he was on high alert—

Until he saw through the cracks that his "intruders" were just three children.

He let out a silent sigh of relief.

But then—frustration crept in.

Why did these little brats have to pick THIS place?!

Fang Chang felt a headache coming on.

This was a human city—the only reason he dared to enter was because of his stealth ability.

But his skill had a major weakness—

He couldn't be exposed to direct light.

At night, it wasn't a problem.

As long as he avoided well-lit areas, he could stay hidden.

But during the day, things were trickier.

His only option was to find a good hiding spot.

If he killed these kids, their families would surely come searching for them.

And in a city as small as Baishui, it would be difficult to cover up their disappearance.

Fang Chang frowned, contemplating his next move.

How should he handle this situation?

With that thought, Fang Chang silently retreated to the farthest corner of the room, doing his best to remain unseen by the three little troublemakers.

But if they really saw him…

Outside the main hall, Tang Lin'er and her friends crept closer and closer, completely unaware of the danger hidden inside.

She reached the door first, took a deep breath, and stretched out both of her small hands, pushing the door panels open just enough for them to squeeze through.

As the door creaked open, a narrow ray of sunlight pierced into the long-darkened room.

The light formed a thin, upside-down trapezoid, tracing the exact shape of the gap between the doors.

Through this beam of light, the empty room was faintly visible—

The furniture had long been removed, the floor was scattered with debris, and thick spiderwebs clung to every corner and crevice, covered in a thick layer of dust.

By coincidence, the sunlight split the room into two halves—

And Fang Chang was hiding in the darker right half.

His body, now over five meters long, nearly filled the entire corner along the right wall.

The edge of the sunlight was now less than a meter from him.

Tang Lin'er's eyes sparkled with excitement at the sight of so many spiderwebs.

Instead of feeling fear, she was even more eager to go inside.

She rushed in first.

Huzi hesitated for a moment before tiptoeing in after her.

As he entered, his shoulder bumped the door, causing it to open a little wider—

The sunlight expanded, now only twenty centimeters from Fang Chang.

The tall girl remained at the doorway, lifting her foot several times, but she couldn't bring herself to step inside.

At that moment, the children were tense.

But Fang Chang was even more nervous.

His spider legs lifted slightly, ready to strike if his identity was exposed.

Just then—

One of his spider legs accidentally knocked over a broken vase in the corner.

"CRASH!"

The sharp sound of shattering ceramic echoed through the silent room.

Huzi and the tall girl, already on edge, screamed in terror.

Huzi immediately bolted for the exit, almost on instinct.

As he reached the doorway, he accidentally bumped into the tall girl who was still standing there.

The girl lost her balance, landing on her rear with a loud thump—

Her back slammed against the door, making it swing open even further.

Only then did she fully process what had happened.

Quickly scrambling to her feet, she chased after Huzi, both of them sprinting out of the courtyard in panic.

By the time Tang Lin'er reacted, they were already gone.

"Tch. So boring. Cowards. Why can't they be as brave as me?"

She pouted, grumbling in dissatisfaction.

Then, she turned her head back toward the room.

Because of the chaotic chain of events, the door was now wide open, allowing sunlight to flood into the room.

Fang Chang had only hesitated for a split second when he knocked over the vase—

Yet in that moment, the two kids had already fled.

But the youngest and boldest one…

Her wide eyes were now locked onto him.

The sunlight weakened his stealth ability, exposing half of his body to Tang Lin'er's gaze.

The other half remained hidden in the shadows.

Fang Chang raised his spider leg, prepared to eliminate the witness—

But then—

The child didn't scream.

She didn't cry.

She didn't even look scared.

Instead—

Her eyes sparkled with excitement.

She stared at him the way a fangirl would upon spotting her idol sitting across from her in a restaurant.

Fang Chang froze.

His raised spider leg hovered in midair, neither attacking nor lowering.

He took a closer look at her—

Something about this little girl seemed familiar.

Wait…

Wasn't this the same dumb kid he had run into in the Star Dou Forest?

The one badly in need of a reality check?

At the same time, Tang Lin'er was practically glowing as she gazed at him.

Her eyes burned with admiration, and she murmured to herself—

"So big… such a BIG spider!"