On the day of the Ghost Festival, after three days and three nights of difficult labor, my sister-in-law finally gave birth to the child.

When my mother took a look at the baby, her face instantly changed. She fiercely spit and scolded, "An unlucky thing, another useless baby!"

Without any hesitation, she aggressively threw the baby in a basin of water nearby, causing the water to turn red immediately as the baby struggled weakly, creating ripples.

Watching this, my sister-in-law, who had been gasping for breath, tried to get up to stop my mother. However, my older brother saw this and kicked the woman, saying harshly, "You still have the face to get up, useless woman!"

I stood nearby, wanting to intervene but was fiercely glared at by my mother. She continued to curse, completely unaware of the lifeless sister-in-law on the bed, her eyes wide with blood vessels, bloodstains at the corners of her mouth, and her head turned to look at the motionless child in the water basin.

Startled, I shouted, "Mom, brother, the sister-in-law... she seems to have stopped moving!"

Hearing this, my mother reached out to check and confirmed that my sister-in-law was indeed dead. She then started cursing loudly at the corpse, spewing all sorts of vulgar words.

Seeing the sister-in-law dead, my brother's legs trembled a bit. He grabbed my mother's arm and asked, "Mom, what should we do with this woman? Darn it, she didn't even choose a good time to die, today is the Ghost Festival!"

My mother, with an angry expression, looked around the room and finally fixed her gaze on me. I had a bad feeling.

Sure enough, my mother took out a tattered cloth bag and instructed me, "Zhu Zi, bury this child in the unmarked grave on the back hill."

I froze, wanting to speak up but only managing to quiver, "But, Mom, what about the sister-in-law..."

My brother kicked my back, furious, "Stop dawdling, go where Mom tells you to go, less talking!"

In pain, I reluctantly took the bag, walked to the water basin, and pulled out the baby's body. The slimy feeling made my scalp tingle, so I didn't dare to look at what was in my hands. But accidentally, I met the wide open eyes of the sister-in-law, as if staring at me. I didn't dare to linger and quickly ran outside.

I walked toward the back hill. The night was dark, and a layer of mist enveloped the mountain. It was eerily silent, with only my heavy breathing and footsteps echoing.

The object in my hand was light, yet it felt as heavy as a weight. I could even feel the cloth bag dripping water on my legs.

A strong smell of blood permeated the air, and the cries of wild cats echoed in the mountains, resembling infant cries. My fingertips were ice-cold as I hastened my steps to the destination.

Upon reaching the unmarked grave, I dug a hole, placed the cloth bag inside, and whispered, "If you had fought a little more, the sister-in-law would still be alive... Don't be reborn as a girl in the next life."

Afterward, I left without looking back, feeling somewhat relieved. On the way back, whether it was my imagination or not, I felt like the journey home had lengthened. It took me over two hours to reach home, and the night was as dark as ink.

The front door of the house was half-open, and I saw Uncle Zhang sitting in my family's yard, with Mom and my brother sitting opposite him, discussing something.

As they talked without lowering their voices, I could hear most of the conversation. Uncle Zhang said, "Gui Fen, it's not that I'm indifferent to the relationship between our families, but your daughter has already had a child, which is not worth much."

My mother replied, "I understand, I understand. Aren't we the only ones in this whole village? You know, after this, there won't be such a good opportunity next time."

Uncle Zhang remained silent, smoking his pipe for a while before saying, "Alright, I have one condition. This matter has to be handled at your place, as if the girl is your family's bride."

My brother wanted to say something but was stopped by my mother, who smiled at Uncle Zhang and said, "Alright, it's settled! Just remember to give me the money tomorrow, don't forget about this matter."

A chill ran down my spine, knowing what they were talking about. Uncle Zhang's youngest son had recently fallen off the mountain and died, young and unmarried. In our village, unmarried individuals couldn't be buried in the ancestral tombs. They were definitely planning to sell my sister-in-law to Uncle Zhang's son for a ghost marriage!