Sometimes I felt despicable, but then I'd glance at the numbers in my bank account and the guilt would evaporate!
In this world, what could possibly matter more than money?
With money in my pocket again, I slipped back into my old ways. After streams, I'd go out carousing, living the high life.
Just as the human-face sore had promised, I'd reclaimed my former glory!
17
"Max, do you love me?"
I'd just come home that night when Maya stopped me. I thought she had something important to say, but instead she dropped that question.
"We've been married for years. Why ask that?"
"I don't think you love me anymore," she said softly. "All you think about now is money."
"I'm making money for you and our son," I said, trying to reach for her. But she shrank away, her face filled with dread and revulsion.
I knew it was because of the human-face sore. Ever since it had appeared on my chest, she refused to have any physical contact with me.
She feared it. She loathed it.
Experience told me that if we kept talking, we'd end up fighting again.
"If there's nothing else, I'm going to bed."
I tried to leave, but her next words stopped me in my tracks. "I went to the hospital today."
"The hospital? What for?" I turned back, a bad feeling creeping over me.
"I had a checkup. The doctor said I'm perfectly healthy." She looked at me, her eyes full of bitter mockery. "Max, you've been lying to me all along."
"..." I had no ground left to stand on.
18
"Do you know what first drew me to you? Your kindness and sincerity! But now, you've changed! Ever since that monster showed up, you've become someone else entirely!" Maya's eyes glistened with tears. "I really miss the old Max. Can he ever come back?"
"Maya..." My feelings were complicated. I didn't know what to say.
"Walk with the devil, and you'll eventually become one yourself! Max, I don't want you to turn out this way!" Maya pressed a knife into my hands. "Listen to me—get rid of it! Don't let it control your life anymore!"
The cold glint of the blade stung my eyes. At the same time, I felt my chest tighten—the human-face sore was terrified!
"Max, don't let her brainwash you! I'm your friend, your patron of wealth! Think about it—every time you've been in trouble, who's helped you through?
"The one who deserves to die is her—this wretched woman! She's never helped you with anything; all she does is hold you back!
"If you want to rise again, if you want to be someone, you have to remove every obstacle in your path!
"Remember what I taught you—be ruthless!
"Go on—kill her! Use the knife in your hands! Once she's gone, your good days will return! With money, you'll have no shortage of women!"
Its words slammed against my heart one after another, sending eerie echoes reverberating through my body...
Unconsciously, I tightened my grip on the knife and took a step toward Maya...
19
"Max, you're going to kill me? I'm your wife—your son's mother!" Maya cried out.
But I was like a man trapped in a nightmare. Nothing she said could reach me. I lunged forward, grabbed her by the collar, and raised the blade...
At that critical moment, our son stumbled out of the bedroom, rubbing his sleepy eyes. He looked up at me with innocent wonder and called out, "Daddy..."
The word "Daddy" hit me like a thunderclap. In an instant, a cascade of memories flooded my mind—our family of three, so happy once upon a time...
Clang. The knife hit the floor.
But then I snapped back to my senses, bent down, and picked it up again. I turned and walked into the bathroom...
"Max, what are you doing? No, no—please! I can help you make money, big money..." The face on my chest twisted hideously. In that moment, I realized how truly grotesque and repulsive it was...
Maya had been right all along. I really was possessed!
I seized it. Down came the blade. With a bloodcurdling shriek, I sliced the human-face sore from my flesh. Deprived of its blood supply, it rapidly withered into a shriveled scrap of skin.
I dropped it into the toilet and slammed the flush button. After a churning roar of water, it vanished into the sewer pipes...
(End of Story 10)
*
"My God, the human-face sore is terrifying!" Cindy said fearfully. "How does something like that even grow?"
"To put it plainly, the human-face sore is an inner demon," Max said with a bitter smile. "Maya and I were just ordinary working people, barely scraping by. After we had our son, the pressure got even worse! I'm not exaggerating when I say I dreamed about making money every single night. That's probably what summoned it..."
"The so-called inner demon is simply the embodiment of desire, and humanity's greatest enemy is the desire within," the Boss said. "Every story we've heard tonight—ultimately, desire was the root cause. It's true what they say: desire is the source of all sin."
"Desire is inborn. It can't be eliminated, but it can be mastered," Stan chimed in. "Healthy desires give us dreams and ambitions, making our lives more meaningful and valuable. But when desire spins out of control, we may plunge into an abyss from which there's no return.
"In this restless age, desires are constantly amplified. Learning to properly manage our desires is a lesson we must all face and master."
This discussion about desire became a small highlight of the evening.
"That story reminded me of something from my own past," a woman said thoughtfully.
"Hope, do you have a story to share as well?" Cindy turned toward her. The woman ran the nearby laundry shop, where the Boss often had his clothes cleaned. She'd come by to deliver some fresh laundry tonight and ended up stranded by the rain.
"If you're all interested..."
"Of course!"
"Hehe, alright then." The woman called Hope smiled. "My story is about the Parasitic Spirit. It's similar to the human-face sore—both are parasites that live off a host. But the Parasitic Spirit feeds on consciousness and thoughts...
"I was once a Parasitic Spirit myself!"