The iron doors of the side hall slammed shut amid a thunderous roar. The heavy boom echoed through the spacious room like a death knell for the imprisoned women.
The hall instantly fell deathly silent, with only the crackling flames in the brazier breaking the stillness.
Ang slowly raised his head and looked around.
Most of the women in the room were already exhausted, their spirits nearly shattered by days of terror and hunger.
Some sat blankly on the beds, their hollow eyes staring into space.
Others curled up as tears silently slid down their cheeks. A few stifled their sobs, their shoulders trembling faintly.
An air of sorrow and helplessness filled the room, like an invisible net tightly shrouding everyone beneath it.
Ang's gaze finally settled on several women who had looked especially despairing earlier.
They seemed to know one another and sat closer together than the rest. Whenever they exchanged glances, their eyes carried suppressed pain and faint fear.
These women may know something.
He was about to move closer when he suddenly heard quiet weeping spreading through the room.
At first, it was only one person choking back sobs in a corner. Then the woman beside her could no longer hold back and covered her face as she cried. Soon after, the weeping spread like a contagion through the entire side hall.
For a moment, suppressed sobbing rose and fell throughout the room, gradually building from restrained whimpers into a chorus of wails.
Some simply threw themselves onto the beds and burst into tears. Others clutched their bedding tightly, their tears soaking their clothes.
Ang froze where he stood, inwardly groaning.
Since he was the only one not crying, he stood out terribly.
Just as he was wondering whether he should force out a few tears to