Though sometimes I also felt I was being despicable, one look at the balance in my account and it all melted away!
In this world, what could be more important than money?
With money rolling in again, I resumed my old ways. After livestreams I'd go out partying, living the high life.
Just as the Human-Face Sore had said—I'd reclaimed my former glory!
17
"Max, do you love me?"
That evening when I came home, Maya stopped me. I thought she had something important to say, but she threw this question at me instead.
"We're an old married couple—why ask that?"
"I don't think you love me anymore," she said quietly. "The only thing on your mind now is money!"
"I'm making money for you and our son!" I paused, tried to reach for her, but she dodged away from me, her face filled with fear and disgust.
I knew it was because of the Human-Face Sore. Ever since I'd gotten it, she'd refused any physical contact with me.
She feared it, and hated it even more.
Past experience told me this conversation was heading toward another fight.
"If there's nothing else, I'm going to bed."
I tried to retreat, but her next words stopped me. "I went to the hospital today."
"For what?" I looked back, a premonition of unease creeping over me.
"I had a checkup. The doctor said I'm perfectly fine." She looked at me, eyes brimming with mockery. "Max, you've been lying to me all along!"
"..." I had nowhere to hide.
18
"Do you know what first attracted me to you? Your kindness and sincerity! But you've changed! Ever since that monster appeared, you haven't been yourself!" Maya's eyes glistened with tears. "I miss the old Max so much. Can he ever come back?"
"Maya..." My emotions were a tangled mess. I didn't know what to say.
"Walk with the devil, and you become the devil! Max, I don't want you to turn into this!" Maya pulled out a knife and pressed it into my hands. "Listen to me—get rid of it! Stop letting it control your life!"
The cold gleam of the blade pierced my eyes. At the same time, my chest tightened—the Human-Face Sore was afraid!
"Max, don't let her bewitch you! I'm your friend, your lucky charm! Think about it—who's helped you through every crisis?
"The one who should die is her, this wretched woman! She never helps with anything, only drags you down!
"If you want to rise from the ashes and become someone again, you have to remove every obstacle in your way!
"Remember what I taught you—be ruthless!
"Go, kill her! Use that knife in your hands! Once she's dead, your good days will return. With money, what woman can't you have?"
Its words hammered against my heart one by one, creating eerie echoes inside my body...
Unconsciously, I gripped the knife tighter and walked step by step toward Maya...
19
"Max, are you going to kill me? I'm your wife, your son's mother!" Maya shrieked.
But I was like a man trapped in a nightmare—I couldn't hear anything. I grabbed her collar and lunged with the blade...
At that critical moment, our son came sleepily out of the bedroom. His innocent eyes looked at me as he called out, "Daddy..."
That single word—"Daddy"—was like a thunderclap! Instantly, my mind flooded with images of the past, memories of how happy our little family of three had been...
The knife clattered to the floor.
But quickly I came back to my senses, bent down, and picked it up again. Then I turned and walked into the bathroom...
"Max, what are you doing? No, no! I can still make you money, lots of money..." The face on my chest twisted viciously. I'd never realized how ugly and repulsive it truly was...
Maya was right—I really was possessed!
I grabbed it and brought the knife down. Amid its piercing screams, I sliced off the Human-Face Sore. Deprived of flesh and blood, it rapidly shriveled into a wrinkled scrap of skin.
I threw it into the toilet and flushed. After a violent churning, it disappeared into the filthy sewer pipes...
(End of Story 10: Human-Face Sore)
*
"Oh 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 gave a bitter smile. "Maya and I were ordinary working folks. Life was tight, and after our son was born, the pressure was even worse! I'm not exaggerating when I say I even dreamed about how to make money. That's probably how I summoned it..."
"The so-called inner demon is the embodiment of desire, and humanity's greatest enemy is the desire within," the Boss said. "Every story we've heard tonight ultimately traces back to desire. There's a saying that rings true—desire is the root of all evil."
"Desire is innate. It can't be eliminated, but it can be mastered," Stan joined in. "Noble desires can give us dreams and aspirations, making life more meaningful and worthwhile. But once desire escapes our control, we may plunge into an abyss, doomed beyond redemption.
"In this restless era, desires are continually amplified. How to properly harness them is a challenge we must all face and cultivate."
This discussion about desire became a small highlight of the evening.
"That story reminds me of something from my own past," a woman said thoughtfully.
"Hope, do you have a story to share too?" Cindy looked over. The woman ran the nearby laundry shop, where the Boss often had his clothes washed. She'd come to return some freshly laundered clothes and got trapped here by the rainstorm.
"If you're all interested..."
"Of course!"
"Hehe, alright then." The woman named Hope smiled. "My story is about a Parasitic Spirit. It's similar to the Human-Face Sore—both are parasites that latch onto a host. But this one parasitizes consciousness and thoughts...
"I was once a Parasitic Spirit myself!"