case 4 - part 4

Part 4 - “Pung”

I stepped into the mahjong room, choked with smoke and dizzying smells. The waiters flitted from one table to another, serving drinks and clearing away overflowing ash trays. The sound of mahjong tiles hitting the table, and the occasional shouts of “Pung” and “Game” filled the air. All the tables are occupied, save for one in the middle of the room, with only 3 persons. I approach the center table, squeezing myself across the narrow spaces.

“Morning, sam si heng (3rd elder brother, 三师兄 ), sa va?” I greeted the long haired man.
“Mmm, commsi commsa . What brings you here? Finally decided to join our club?” He taunted.
“No, not today, not ever. Let the game begin.” I retorted and sat down opposite Mahjong Knight (麻将三), one of the 4 Heavenly Kings (四大天王)of Black Glove gang.
“Cant wait to lose? Tell you what, if you win, you get to go further upstairs, but if you lose, you gotta leave…and leave behind your right arm. Kekeke….” He grinned sinisterly, and licked his lips.

The game started off in Mahjong Knight’s advantage, and he soon got an upper hand.
“Red Dragon ( 红中),”I discarded.
“Pung !” He shouted.
“White Dragon (白 板 ).” I discarded again.
“Pung ! Haha, I’ve got 2 points now. If you discard the Green Dragon and I win, I'll win with 3 Big Scholars (大三元), and you’ll lose triple, and I want both of your arms ! Hiahahaha…” He laughed hysterically.
“Green Dragon (青发 ).” I discard the tile, and looked him straight in the eye. “Go ahead, win it if you can.” I dared.
“Why you….” His tongue got caught. “Pung ! East Wind.” He threw the tile on the table.
“Kong !” I shouted.
“West Wind ! “ he threw it out.
“Kong !” I yelled.
“North Wind ! Eat it if you can !” he yelled back.
“Kong again! “ I hollered. The tide turned to my advantage now.
“Dang….” He cursed as he picked up his tile.
“You seemed like you just picked up South Wind, “ I chuckled.”And if you throw that out, I’ll complete my Four Winds of Happiness (大四喜), and you’ll lose double. Hehehe…” I snickered.
“Not a chance ! Yat Man (ten thousand,一万 ) !” he kept the South Wind, and threw out the Yat Man tile.
“Sorry pops, I game on that tile.” I said, and snatched Yat Man from the table.
“What? You’re not preparing for Four Winds of Happiness?” he answered dumbfoundedly and stunned.
“Four Hidden Pungs of East, West, North Wind , Gau Man (Ninety thousand, 九万)and Yat Man as the “eye”. The 3 Winds that I konged are to divert your attention from my main preparation, 4 Hidden Pungs (四暗刻). You lose triple.” I pushed down my remaining tiles, and beamed triumphantly. Sun Tzu’s Art of War on “Hiding your real motives, and faking your moves (实则虚之，虚则实之 )” sure works this time.
“Better luck next time.” I said as I made my way upstairs.

Note : sa va= how are you? (in French)
commsi commsa= so so (in French)

to be continued..