Tan Jinxuan's unusual experience with a small creature inhabiting his ear during qigong practice.
Tan Jinxuan was a student in the county school. He had great faith in the art of qigong and health preservation, and he persevered in practicing it, whether in the harsh winter or scorching summer, without interruption. After several months of practice, he felt that he had made some progress. One day, while he was meditating with crossed legs, he suddenly heard a faint voice in his ears, like the buzzing of a fly, saying, “You can come out now.” However, when he opened his eyes, he couldn’t hear it anymore. When he closed his eyes again to adjust his breathing, he heard the same voice once more. He thought that he was on the verge of achieving a major breakthrough in his inner alchemy and felt secretly delighted. From then on, every time he meditated, he could hear the voice speaking. So, he decided to wait for the voice to speak again and respond to it to see what would happen. One day, he heard the voice in his ear again, and he softly replied, “You can come out now.” Soon after, he felt his ears itching and hurting, as if something was coming out. He sneaked a sideways glance and saw a small creature about three inches tall, with a grotesque and ugly face like a demon, moving around on the ground. He was secretly amazed and decided to watch the creature closely to see if there were any changes. Suddenly, a neighbor came to borrow something and knocked on his door, calling out to him. The small creature heard the knocking and became extremely panicked. It started running around the room like a mouse that couldn’t find a hole. At that moment, Tan Jinxuan felt as if his soul had left his body, and he lost track of where the small creature had gone. As a result, he developed a form of madness, constantly screaming. It took over half a year of medication and treatment before he gradually began to recover.
《耳中人》
谭晋玄，邑诸生也。笃信导引之术，寒暑不辍。行之数月，若有所得。一日，方趺坐，闻耳中小语如蝇，曰：“可以见矣。”开目即不复闻。合眸定息，又闻如故。谓是丹将成，窃喜。自是每坐辄闻。因思俟其再言，当应以觇之。一日，又言。乃微应曰：“可以见矣。”俄觉耳中习习然，似有物出。微睨之，小人长三寸许，貌狞恶如夜叉状，旋转地上。心窃异之，姑凝神以观其变。忽有邻人假物，扣门而呼。小人闻之，意张皇，绕屋而转，如鼠失窟。谭觉神魂俱失，不复知小人何所之矣。遂得颠疾，号叫不休，医药半年，始渐愈。