At night, still in that small room, still around that hexagonal mahjong table, the Six Chess Pieces sat in silence, each playing mahjong tiles from their hands. The only sound in the room was tiles striking the tabletop. Gradually, the six of them moved faster and faster, until at last their hands were nearly invisible, and even the tiles on the table could no longer be seen clearly. It looked as though someone had pressed a thousandfold fast-forward button.
Suddenly, Ball Girl shouted, "I'm done playing!"
At her cry, all six froze in an instant. It was as if time itself had stopped at Ball Girl's shout. They withdrew their hands and sat upright without moving.
"Sigh!"
The gaudily dressed hoodlum let out a sigh. As he exhaled, his breath fell upon the mahjong table before him, and every tile on it turned into powder, scattering across the tabletop. It was impossible to tell whether he had shattered the tiles with that single sigh or whether they had been destroyed by the inhuman way these six nonhumans had been playing.
"To be honest, I really don't want to wade into this muddy mess," the hoodlum said. "It's thankless work and way too much trouble. I was doing just fine in the myriad worlds—living it up, surrounded by a harem, stomping on people whenever I felt like it. Why the hell did you have to drag me into this?" He slapped the table and flung his arms about like a boy throwing a tantrum.
"Hoodlum, are you trying to go back on your word?" Xiang Ba said in a deep voice. "We already made this decision together." The Taoist stroked the small tuft of long beard beneath his chin. "Infinite Heavenly Venerable! This... going back on one's word, this, this... would