Arya muttered to himself, suspecting that there was a pair of eyes that were watching him from a distance in the darkness of the night, Arya then spoke to Ki Darmo in a low voice, half whispering about it.

Arya seemed to be saying goodbye to leave the pavilion, it was seen after speaking the warrior stood up from his seat then walked away from Ki Darmo who was still sitting cross-legged while enjoying the remaining coffee in the bamboo cup.

"Where is that young man going? Is it possible that he is continuing his journey at this time of night?" the figure in the darkness of the night that Arya suspected was spying on him muttered.

"I should just follow him, once he is safe from the residents I will approach him."

The figure muttered again to himself, then slowly he walked away from where he had been standing watching Arya in the pavilion earlier.

It was not clear where Arya was going from the pavilion saying goodbye to Ki Darmo earlier, what was certain was that he was walking north from the pavilion. Right in a quiet place where not a single resident of Serayu Village was visible in front of their houses, each of which had a torch as a light, Arya stopped his steps as if he was deliberately waiting for the figure who had been monitoring and following him.

Arya intended to continue his steps, suddenly someone's voice was heard calling which made him stop his steps again.

"Wait, Kisanak.."

The voice of the call seemed to be deliberately lowered, even so Arya still had time to hear it and turned back.

"Where are you going, Kisanak?"

"Hmm, it's Kisanak. I wonder who asked me to stop," said Arya accompanied by his friendly smile, as if he did not feel that he had been watched and followed.

"Yes, we met yesterday afternoon on the cliff slope at the edge of the pool. Can I have a moment of your time, Kisanak? There's something I want to talk about," he asked, Arya just nodded his head.

"Oh yeah, before that, may I know what your name is?"

"My name is Arya," the warrior extended his hand.

The figure of the man who followed him shook Arya's outstretched hand.

“Gento Ireng. Just call me Gento, Kisanak, do you want to continue your journey at night like this? Because it’s heading north?”

Arya shook his head, thinking in his heart that his guess was right that the figure he met yesterday on the edge of the river was Gento Ireng, the subordinate of the White Crocodile Demon Queen.

“Because it was already getting dark when I arrived in this village, I ask permission to spend the night here by meeting Ki Darmo. Now I want to go to one of the guard posts, joining several residents who were assigned to guard tonight.”

Gento Ireng smiled in his heart, feeling happy that it turned out that the young man who would be taken to the white crocodile palace was not continuing his journey, but was going to join several residents at the guard post which was about 20 spears to the north of where they were standing.

“Actually, there is something important that I want to talk to you about, Arya. However, I can’t say it here, I’m afraid it will be heard by one of the villagers.”

Arya seemed to frown, showing that in his heart a big question mark suddenly appeared over what Gento Ireng had just said.

“Is it so secret that no one from the residents here should hear it?”

“Yes Arya, if you don’t mind tomorrow morning meet me at the place where we met yesterday on the edge of the pool. There I will explain everything, I’m sure you will be interested in the offer I will make later,” said Gento Ireng.

Arya was silent for a moment, the curiosity in his heart made him consider making an appointment to meet Gento Ireng on the edge of the skull pool.

“Okay, tomorrow morning I will meet you on the edge of the pool.”

Gento Ireng smiled happily hearing Arya’s answer, although he tried to act calm to avoid Arya’s suspicion that he was worried about being seen by one of the residents in that place but Arya could judge that the Crocodile Queen’s men did not want to linger there.

“I’ll excuse myself to go back home, because it’s getting late. See you tomorrow morning, Arya.”

Arya nodded again, after shaking hands again he saw Gento Ireng seemed to be rushing to leave him. Arya smiled in his heart saying this was his chance to seize the necklace with the white crocodile head pendant that was around Gento Ireng's neck, that way he would be able to free the villagers who had been kidnapped and enslaved by the White Crocodile Demon Queen.

As soon as he estimated that Gento Ireng had left the area far away, Arya turned around towards the pavilion in front of Ki Darmo's house where the village elder was still sitting there waiting for him.

Arya's words that he would join several residents at the guard post were just his excuses to answer Gento Ireng's questions, he deliberately said goodbye to Ki Darmo from the pavilion to investigate who had been watching him in the pavilion.

"Eh, Arya, it seems you've returned."

Ki Darmo greeted Arya when he arrived in front of the pavilion.

"That's right Ki, I suspect that since we sat in this pavilion someone has been watching me from a distance. That person is Gento Ireng...”

Ki Darmo jumped up from his seat, he was really surprised by what Arya said.

“Gento Ireng?!”

“Yes Ki, apparently he really wanted to meet me.”

“Then has Nak Arya met him?”

Arya nodded his head, while Ki Darmo looked even more curious.

“What happened during your meeting? Did Nak Arya manage to grab the necklace?”

Arya shook his head, but after that he seemed to smile trying to calm the Serayu Village elder from his growing curiosity.

“He invited me to meet tomorrow morning on the edge of Lubuk Ular, he said there was something important he would talk about.”

Ki Darmo was really made even more curious by what Arya said, he also wondered why nothing happened between them at their meeting earlier like what Gento Ireng always did to his villagers.

“This must be Gento Ireng’s trick to trap Arya...”