Folklore Supernatural Story - Ecstatic Ritual ("跳大神")

Next is a story about a "出马仙" incident, which a male classmate sitting behind me told me one evening during high school self-study. Let's call him Peng Peng. Peng Peng's family lives in a forest region of the Greater Xing'an Mountains in Northeast China. The area is filled with vast mountains and wildlife, and the population is relatively sparse. Peng Peng's maternal grandmother passed away early, and his grandfather found a new partner, who had been a practitioner of "出马仙" when she was young, worshiping a deity. In his old age, Peng Peng's grandfather suffered a stroke and was paralyzed in bed. His grandmother felt that tending to the patient's needs, including cleaning up excrement and urine, was too dirty and inappropriate for the deity to be involved in. So, she conducted a ritual to "send away" the deity.

One summer vacation, Peng Peng returned to his hometown in Northeast China to escape the heat and visit his grandparents. While the adults were at work, his grandmother looked after Peng Peng and his four or five-year-old cousin at home. His grandfather lay in the adjacent room, unable to take care of himself, and his speech was slurred.

One day, Peng Peng's grandmother's old friend visited their house and stayed for lunch. Peng Peng's grandmother prepared several dishes. During the meal, the young cousin suddenly exhibited unusual behavior, eating a lot of food and forcefully stuffing it into her mouth. At the time, no one thought much of it and assumed the child was hungry and had a good appetite. After noticing that she was eating excessively and could not be stopped, they had to take away her chopsticks.

After lunch, Peng Peng's grandmother instructed him and his cousin to stay with their grandfather at home while she went out with her old friend for an errand. Peng Peng watched TV in the house, while his cousin played nearby. After a while, Peng Peng was watching TV when suddenly he heard his grandfather in the adjacent room making distressed noises. Thinking that his grandfather might be thirsty, he fetched water and entered his grandfather's room. To his shock, he saw his cousin vigorously pulling and tugging at his grandfather, who was moaning in pain.

Seeing this scene, Peng Peng rushed forward to pull his cousin away and scolded her, "What are you doing? Why are you bothering him while he's sleeping!"

Unexpectedly, his cousin turned her head, looked at him with fierce and menacing eyes, and then ruthlessly kicked his leg. In theory, a four or five-year-old girl wouldn't have been able to exert much force even if she kicked, but Peng Peng was already a junior high school student, a sturdy young man around 1.7 meters tall. However, he was knocked down by her kick and clutched his leg in pain for quite a while. After finally alleviating some of the pain, he got up and gave his sister several slaps on the back. His cousin started crying.

At that moment, his grandmother returned home, saw his cousin sobbing loudly, and then looked at Peng Peng, who was clearly frustrated. She asked what had happened, and Peng Peng explained what had occurred earlier.

His grandmother wiped his cousin's face, which was smeared with tears and snot, with a wet towel from the washbasin and then sat down. Suddenly, his grandmother's eyes shifted sideways, fixating on an empty seat beside her, and she angrily scolded, "You think you're so capable! I'm not at home, so you dare to bully the children! Watch how I'll use incense to deal with you tonight!"

At that moment, Peng Peng was standing opposite his grandmother and witnessed the scene very clearly. After his grandmother finished angrily scolding, his whole body suddenly became covered in goosebumps, and his back felt cold and tingling.

As for his cousin, she suddenly stopped crying and quieted down. In no time, she was lying on a small table nearby, fast asleep.

Since that day, Peng Peng has never dared to return to his hometown...