The Mystic Nine (6) Er Yuehong

While playing mahjong in the middle of the night, several of the younger Mystic Nine members began to bicker. It was raining outside, which seemed both sad and meaningful.

“Er Ye, what suit do you want to play?” One of the servants held up a few of the sets and waited beside Er Yuehong. These mahjong sets were rare products that Er Yuehong had collected from various places. Most of them were ivory painted in different colors. Both the colors and designs were exquisite, and he even had a favored set that had nine-tailed cats on them. The bonus tiles in that set had all kinds of cats finely carved on them. He also had another very beautiful set that had been carved in such a way that crystal flowers were embedded in each of the tiles. But this had its disadvantages. There was a huge weight difference, and the tomb robbers’ hands were very steady. If they played too long, they would know which tiles were which.

Er Yuehong looked at him a little absent-mindedly. Qi Tiezui beside him had already drank a little too much and was leaning against the armchair as he said, “Not only do they have to be carefully chosen, but there are so many tricks when it comes to playing mahjong. I say we pick a random set.”

“With the three of us playing, you won’t win much even if you get ‘thirteen orphans’ (1). When we play, we focus on the pleasure of it, not on winning or losing. Ba Ye, if you’re so idle and bored, why don’t we go to Qingshangzhai and book a table. The ups and downs of the money we gamble there in one night is equal to the harvest we earn in a month. It’s really in line with your style.” Old Dog Wu said.

“No, I know you have your way of playing mahjong. If you want to play big, we’ll just have to put our favorite things at stake. If you don’t have a few pennies, just use one of your dogs. If you lose, I’ll put it in a stewed hotpot. Do you dare?” Qi Tiezui retorted. “This is my style. It’s not based on calculations, just on luck.”

“What if I win?” Old Dog Wu smiled while secretly scolding the damned man for being so cruel. He deserved to have his legs chopped off.

“If you win, I’ll let you stab me a few times. But you can only use a three-inch blade.”

“Ba Ye, what good is it for me to stab you? I have no reason to. Or, if I win, I can sell the rights to Master Four. He’ll definitely like it.”

“That won’t work. If you win, you have to stab me yourself. But I know you’re too soft-hearted to do it. That bastard Chen Pi Ah Si can’t wait to plot against me every day, so he’d probably end up stabbing me in the ass. Young man, let’s not mess with those old men, ok?”

Old Dog Wu laughed and said, “Don’t say that. Er Ye’s the oldest today. It’s his birthday, so he’s the master.” As he spoke, he looked at Xie Jiu.

Xie Jiu, who hadn’t said a word the whole time, gave them a meaningful look and told them to stop talking. Old Dog Wu looked over and found that Er Yuehong wasn’t listening to them at all. Instead, his eyes were staring blankly at the mahjong tiles.

Old Dog Wu asked softly, “What happened to Er Ye? He looks possessed.”

The servant holding the mahjong sets beside him looked like he was about to collapse. His face was turning green as he looked at the gathered people for help.

Old Dog Wu looked at Qi Tiezui, who was drinking by himself, and then at Xie Jiu, who shook his head to tell him to drop it. But Old Dog Wu was soft-hearted, so he said to Er Yuehong, “Er Ye, if you can’t pick, just order another set.”

Er Yuehong slowly came back to himself, sighed, and then said, “I was having trouble finding my favorite set. It appears to be gone as well.” After saying this, he smiled and said to the three people, “Don’t argue. Since you have to listen to me, I’ll sing you a song if I lose. If I win, you’ll each have to give me a bowl of noodles. How about it?”

The three men looked at each other and nodded. Old Dog Wu thought about it some more, and couldn’t resist saying, “Making Xie Jiu boil noodles… Er Ye, aren’t you afraid of death?”

“I won’t necessarily eat it. I’ll feed it to a dog if it smells wrong.”

Old Dog Wu showed a meaningful smile that looked a little bitter, “Er Ye, I’ve tried. Dogs don’t have it easy. Leave them alone.”

No one knew what Xie Jiu was thinking as he pushed his glasses up and looked out the window. Qi Tiezui and Er Yuehong both laughed.

Two years after he lost his wife, Er Yuehong celebrated his birthday. He only invited a few guests. It was raining in the middle of the night as the mahjong tiles were set up. He seemed to be less sad, as if all the sorrow had been scattered to all corners of the house, waiting to be stepped on at any time.

<The Mystic Nine (5) Black Back the Sixth (Part 2)><Table of Contents><The Mystic Nine (7) Banjie Li>

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TN Notes:

(1) If you don’t remember, Fatty mentioned “thirteen orphans” in his brain teaser from Vol 6. If you get “thirteen orphans”, you win big. Since Ba Ye’s playing against 3 people, the pool is pretty small (is how I took it).