Underground Well

Cytherea raised her hands and planned to throw a punch at the little old man's face. Realising that doing so would not help at all and would only make matters worse, her partner immediately held both hands back and pulled back, slightly away from the little old man. 

"Why are you blocking me? A little more and we can hurt this bastard!" Cytherea looked dissatisfied, her chest deflating as if justifying his actions just now.

"Indeed, violence is not an option to solve problems. Let me talk to him after this. I have a feeling that if you hurt her, there is a chance she will withdraw her help and that will make it even harder for us to extract information." 

Xavier tried to calm the goddess down but her face still showed tremendous anger and managed to keep from mimicking what Cytherea did. Suddenly, her mouth fell open when she realised that there was a figure who was even more unhappy with being treated harshly but still looked calm and did not let anger overwhelm his body.

'To what extent does this person remain calm? Cytherea was amazed but also not too happy when her partner did not share her thoughts. "Alright, you decide. But if there is something that makes me get angry again, let me curse him!"

Xavier raised his right hand while giving a thumbs up. "Good, because I would have done the same if so."

"Can you give me some directions? I'll take you straight to the person you're looking for. There's no need to worry, just follow me and there's no need to attract the attention of people around. Prepare yourself from now on." The reminiscent little old man then returned ahead of them to a location they had never imagined.

The hallway was full of narrow curves and had to jostle with people passing by. Xavier did not expect a place like this to be visited by so many travellers and their appearance seemed to be very secretive and confidential as if they held information that was important to each individual. Until now they did not know about this well even though they had visited the village above the well many times before. This place really holds secrets and it is supposed to be something secret that needs to be hidden from ordinary people who cannot protect information. 

Cytherea struggled to breathe for a while when she realised how long this passage was and that it was too narrow to take up space. Her face beneath the cloak she wore turned slightly pale again and she tried to distract herself while counting the tens if not hundreds of torches mounted on the walls with each step. Xavier knew that but let it slide. To him, it was common for people to have pobias about certain things, such as the one Cytherea had.

***

Not long into their respiratory distress, Xavier and Cytherea could see an intersection that was used as the main road leading to the hallway and the area. Instantly Cytherea bumped into Xavier and the little old man and almost fell down. Her steps suddenly became light and her grin seemed to show happiness.

"Are you all right, sir?" Xavier managed to grab her hand when the little old man's face was almost staring at the hallway wall.

"Thank you, I'm fine. Tell your mate not to endanger the life of someone more fragile."

"Let me give her some punishment when we end our business here."

Cytherea bowed slightly, her breath coming in gasps of relief after being forced to breathe with such a narrow space and almost no chance to take in air. Her face was as excited as an animal free from its cage. Who knows how they left this place, at least it was a no-brainer now that she was in a place with more light.

'I really can't stay in a cramped place for long. Why do I have to have this kind of thing?' Even the goddess questioned her imperfections.

Not long after, the little old man and Xavier left the hallway with expressionless faces. Both of them looked relaxed and had not experienced any problems. Even so, this was his first time visiting a secret passage under the village. In his opinion, this place was really cramped and sultry, even though the air in the village was a little more refreshing, Xavier was a little comfortable down here because of the warm temperature of the air. 

The distance between their heads and the natural roof tiles above was only about 3 metres. Moreover, the ceiling there was not modified with sturdy materials, so it was very fragile and crumbled easily when touched with any object, causing landslides that shut down all activities in the Underground Well.

It is so narrow that each path can only be accessed by two adults side by side, because the other side is used by residents as a place for black market transactions. Many of them negotiate something abnormal, such as human organs or stolen royal property. Occasionally, Xavier was tempted to take one of them secretly since the village prioritised individual needs and selfishness.

"Welcome to the Underground Well. As you can see, this is not a tourist attraction or historical relic. This place was built as a very profitable transaction compared to what you would find in a normal market. I'm sure you at least know about the 'black market'."

Cytherea returned to normal and her eyes fell on the jewellery displayed by one of the stands.

"Can I take that for free?" she pointed out spontaneously and bluntly.

The little old man shook his head with a smile. "You'd better not do that. They are very dangerous."

Xavier frowned. "What makes them so dangerous? For a moment, their appearance... was a little better than the condition of the vendors in the village market."

He closed his mouth for a moment. His gaze drifted in all directions, as if he was scanning the surroundings for evidence that the vendors here were dangerous. He finally found a vendor displaying one of the more traditional rifles. 

He pointed it out and said, "She doesn't sell them, but uses them when customers or travellers try to steal his goods. Many people have died from being shot with it."

Xavier and Cyhterea understood and nodded. For the next few minutes or hours they decided not to make a scene in the Underground Well. They feared that they might endanger other residents who were not involved in their troubles. 

"Then where are we going this time? I'm sure you're not just boasting about how cramped this place is."