The next day, I was awakened by my sister-in-law's loud shouting.

As soon as I woke up, I found myself sitting in my room. Everything in the room was there, except for the paper figure that Master had made for me.

I slowly got up.

My sister-in-law was rolling on the floor in pain, howling in agony.

My brother looked on coldly at my sister-in-law on the ground and lit a pile of fire.

My mother held my paper figure in her hands, fiercely stabbing it with a sharpened peachwood stick, then pasting yellow paper over it, muttering in her mouth.

"Pan'er, don't blame Mom for being cruel to you. Next year, I will burn a lot of paper money for you!"

"Pan'er, remember to bring a chubby boy!"

"..."

Finally, she threw the paper figure into the fire pit.

Soon, the paper figure burned into a mass of black ashes. My mother scooped up the black ashes and put them into a jar. She then simmered and cooked them into a thick, black sticky substance.

My mother fed that pot of dark substance to my sister-in-law.

After drinking it, my sister-in-law started complaining of stomach pain. My mother urgently asked my brother to help her back inside, saying, "She's about to give birth. Pan'er has brought us a baby boy. Hurry and assist her inside. I'll go boil some hot water!"

I stood at the doorway, watching my mother and brother going in and out of the room.

They seemed to have not noticed me,

or perhaps, they couldn't see me at all.

Suddenly, my brother kicked me and cursed, "Where did this paper figure come from? It's in the way!"