**Jumping the Gods / Tiao Da Shen (跳大神):** This is a northern Chinese shamanistic ritual, distinct from Daoist liturgy. A ‘Lead Spirit’ (大神) acts as a medium, possessed by a spirit, while a ‘Second Spirit’ (二神) plays a hand-drum and guides the ceremony with chants. It’s a folk practice that blends exorcism, healing, and communication with the spirit world. In the Dao-Twisted World, the Er Shen is often a silent, veiled figure—an eerie embodiment of the liminal space between the living and the dead.
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Definition
**Jumping the Gods / Tiao Da Shen (跳大神):** This is a northern Chinese shamanistic ritual, distinct from Daoist liturgy. A ‘Lead Spirit’ (大神) acts as a medium, possessed by a spirit, while a ‘Second Spirit’ (二神) plays a hand-drum and guides the ceremony with chants. It’s a folk practice that blends exorcism, healing, and communication with the spirit world. In the Dao-Twisted World, the Er Shen is often a silent, veiled figure—an eerie embodiment of the liminal space between the living and the dead.
Story context
Mistaken for troublemakers, Bai Lingmiao and Chun Xiaoman get the cold shoulder from an old escort chief whose wife has been raging in a locked room for three decades. Just when it looks like their good intentions have backfired, the arrival of the silent, red-veiled Er Shen (Second Spirit) sends the hardened bodyguards scrambling for their apotropaic ink-lines and black dogs. A dramatic about-face from the chief follows once a whisper reveals the girls are spirit-dancers, turning their polite dismissal into a desperate plea for help. This chapter beautifully showcases how folk ritual knowledge can flip social power in the Dao-Twisted World.
Why it matters
This chapter is a masterclass in "the social power of the folk practitioner." Watch how Bai Lingmiao and Chun Xiaoman go from being dismissed as clueless girls to revered spiritual experts, all because of a single whispered word. Also, take note of the 30-year timeframe. Zhao Qin’s suffering isn't a recent incident—it’s a lifelong burden, which deepens the tragedy of his initial hostility and the desperation of his final plea. The appearance of the Er Shen is perfectly timed—not to attack, but to act as silent proof of their expertise, turning the bodyguards' fear into respect at the last possible moment. And keep an eye on that final ritual tableau—the drum, the veil, the silent Second Spirit tapping the skin. It’s pure, uncanny folk horror.
Quick facts
Source novel
Dao Gui Yi Xian
First appearance
The Great Spirit
Chapter references
1
Type hints
dao gui yi xian, chapter 142, bai lingmiao
Guide tags
Possession, Folk Exorcism, Social Power Shift
Appears in chapters
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