After The Dead Spy collected their dead and injured, Mace closed down the tea house for cleaning.  Hongmo stayed behind, drinking the cold tea as the workers of the Crimson Lightning Tea House cleaned up.  

"Miss Hongmo, you must have been frightened!"  Throne said as he sat down wiping his forehead with a handkerchief.  "With Master Mace and me, you don't have to worry about anything.  You will never come into danger."  

Mace sat still trying to not laugh.  If Thorne only knew that the fearsome Ghost was the very same young woman he sat across from, Thorne shit himself.  

"I believe in the strength of Mister Mace and Mister Thorne." Hongmo said as she whipped out her fan to fan herself, pretending to be overwhelmed and frightened.  

Her act would have been more believable to Mace if she could make her face look frightened, but seeing how Thorne believed in her words and actions, made Mace laugh out loud.  If he didn't know the truth to Hongmo, he too would have been blind by her beauty and believed Hongmo's horrible acting.  

Mace signaled for the tea to be changed into freshly brewed tea as he invited the other four assassins to come sit with him.  He raised his eyebrow as Hongmo to see what her decision would be, but she slightly smiled and drank the hot tea.  

"Come sit with us."  Mace told the four assassins to join them.  "This is Doc, The Bastard Prince, or BP for short.  Then there's Vicious Vixen, sometimes we just call her Vixen or Vix and last but not least,  Nightmare."  

Doc, looked like an elderly man.  His graying hair with his long beard made him look like a sage.  The Bastard Prince, was a handsome man.  One that attracted attention and the affections of women.  But there was a dangerous and bad boy aura to him that made it exciting to be with him.  It made women think that they could fix him.  Vicious Vixen, was a beauty.  Her long, lushes, and silky blonde hair reached her small waist as her large blue and green eyes shined brightly.  Her luscious lips were a seduction of it's own as she smiled sinfully at the men who have gathered.  Nightmare's eye patch covered some of the scar that could be seen on his right eye.  The scar looked to be as if it came from a blade.  The scar started from his forehead, straight down his right eye to his cheek.  His long black hair covered some of the eye patch as his hair was tied back into a ponytail.  He seemed to be a solitude person.  His stone cold demeanor made Hongmo relate to him.  He sat down quietly and listened to everyone talk without speaking once.  

"Can you believe the nerve of those Dead Spies!  That's what they'll be if they think they can just stroll up to our door and cause trouble!"  Bastard Prince said loudly before noticing Hongmo and realizing he was in the company of a civilian.  

Mace laughed at BP's actions.  "Everyone, this is Du Hongmo.  She is the famous Godly Poison Expert that's been causing all the drama with the Prime Minister and his family."  

Everyone looked at Hongmo as she raised her cup of tea to them as if she was giving them a toast.  As she drank the tea it was Vicious Vixen who pushed Bastard Prince out of his seat because he sat next to Hongmo. 

"Move out of my way Bastard!"  Vicious Vixen said as she sat down in the chair and pulled it closer to Hongmo.  "Does this mean you're joining Blood Moon?" 

"Unfortunately no."  Hongmo tells them.  "My home is near here so I come to enjoy the tea and food.  I'm afraid I don't have the skills and grit to be...what you guys are."  

"Did you forget that she refused to sell her poison and would only use her skills in poison to heal?"  Doc said.  "That's honorable of you Miss Hongmo."  

"Thank you, Doc."  Hongmo said.  "I just hope me being here doesn't make others think that I'm aligning myself with only the Blood Moon. I don't want any trouble.  I just want to live a peaceful life."  

"Haha!  As if you can with Lady Sara making you her nemesis while embarrassing the Prime Minister and Lady Cammy!  We all heard the story!"  Vixen laughed out loud.  "Not only did you embarrass them, but you also didn't leave them any face to fix themselves with.  Say... how long did that spoiled Lady Sara kneel in the banquet hall?"  

"I don't know, I'm not too sure."  Hongmo told them, but truthfully she didn't care about Lady Sara to ask about her.  

"I heard she knelt for the whole night."  Doc said.  

"I heard she didn't leave until the next day.  Prime Minister Nawa had to beg the King to let her off."  BP said.  "Only then did Lady Sara was able to go home.  I heard she caught a fever and is now on bed rest."  

"You made powerful enemies, Miss Hongmo."  Nightmare said.  "You will not have a quiet and peaceful life as you wanted."  

"I suspect the Prime Minister has put out a bounty on your head."  Vixen agreed.  "If not now, then soon.  The embarrassment he faced in front of Prince Asano and the nobility is something he cannot forget anytime soon.  He is a proud man that will only erase the shame with your death."  

"Prince Asano would be mad should your death come at the hands of an assassin."  BP said.  "He'll definitely target the Prime Minister should anything happen to you as well as the assassin and the organization that took the bounty."  

"If he can't protect his woman, then he doesn't deserve to be King."  Doc said.  

"He's not going to be King."  BP said.  "The King supports the Crown Prince.  Besides Prince Asano isn't even interested in becoming King."  

"Only Crown Prince Jian, Prince Lucas and Prince Jacob are fighting for the throne.  Prince Asano has no interest other than the military."  Doc also agreed with BP. " Prince Asano is respected by the military for his achievements. If one of his brother princes could win his loyalty, they would have a smooth rise to the throne with his support along with the military." 

"I won't let anything happen to you."  Mace told Hongmo reassuringly, bring their discussion back to topic.  He didn't like others speaking about his friend and his friend's plans to become King.  Once Prince Asano ascends the throne, his friendship with Prince Asano would benefit him.  Any talk about the fight for the throne was useless, for he too knew Asano was working behind the scene already to secure his spot as King. 

"Thank You, Mister Mace."  Hongmo said.  "I'm sure with your protection as well as Prince Asano's protection, nothing will happen to me."  

"Should this Grandpa come stay with you to guard you?"  Thorne joked.  He wanted to see if Mace would get mad at him for joking in such a way.  But to his dismay, Mace didn't react to his words.

"Only if you play chess."  Hongmo said to him.  "If you play chess, you may visit me for tea and chess."  

"I play chess." Nightmare said.  His tone was steady, but there was an inflection to it that seem as if he was excited at the idea of playing chess with another person.  

"I can learn to play chess!"  Bp said excitedly, making up an excuse to visit her.  

"Come by my home, we can play chess anytime."  Hongmo told them.  She looked forward to spending time with them and earning their trust to become friends.  Maybe they knew something she didn't about the boarder missions that could help her figure out the identities of the men who raped her and left her for dead.