Lord Shen Yan begins spending more time in the quiet, isolated butchery or summoning A-Hu to his private chambers under the guise of security. Away from the prying eyes and venomous whispers of the court, the sharp boundaries between noble and outcast slowly dissolve. Yan finds solace in A-Hu’s raw honesty and steady presence, while A-Hu finds a fierce, protective tenderness hidden beneath Yan’s ruthless exterior.