“Tribulaton?” Sylvie exclaims before her eyes widen with joy. “Great! This will be my opportunity! With this I think I can make the push to the eighth stage.” She says, her eyes gleaming.

Taylor lets out a bitter smile. “Sylvie. I'm not sure if I'll make it out of this one. Jesse picked me out as a vanguard. From what she said it seems like the world is going to start beating into me.” He says, not at all happy with the situation.

“You're a vanguard?” She asks with surprise before a happy smile breaks out on her face. She leans in and gives Taylor a deep kiss on the lips. “My baby. My lucky star.” She says with a beaming smile. “You’re my ticket to the top. I’m just going to stick close to you throughout it. At the end, we’ll be the couple that everyone envies.” Sylvie says, her eyes shining with dreams of the future.

Taylor lets out a bitter laugh. “That is if we make it to the end…” He says, not having high hopes.

Sylvie creased her eyebrows as she looks at Taylor. “Taylor. My hubby, my baby boy. Nothing was ever achieved without trying. When opportunity comes you say ‘yes, please’ and then you push your luck and ask for a cherry on top. Life is waiting for everyone and it gets boring when all a person says is ‘no’. We might die, my love, but we’ll go out in a blaze of glory.” She says, imagining the beauty of the scene and all the fulfilled romance. It made her heard beat faster just thinking of it. She pulls Taylor into a hug and looks at him. “So are we good?” She asks, expecting a salute and a “yes, ma’am”.

Taylor lets out a sigh. I guess there’s no backing out now. He says, accepting his fate. “We’re good.” He says as he looks to Sylvie and smiles. “Have I ever told you I love you?” He asks with a smile.

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“I’d rather you show me.” She says, returning a smile of her own.

…

…

“Yes?” Taylor says, answering the phone with a hint of annoyance. I hate it when work calls. He thinks with disgruntlement.

“Taylor, I have a list of materials and ingredients I need you to purchase. I’ve sent it to your work email. A lot of this could be difficult to find, but try to get it all in one year. If there are problems, let me know and we’ll try to figure something out.” Hanz says over the phone. He was getting quite bored lately and he thought it would be a good time to start a new project, so as his errand boy, Taylor had to get to work.

Fuck. Taylor exclaims in his mind. “I’ll have a look in a bit.” Taylor responds, trying to sound polite.

“Good. There’s also something else. This isn’t a priority, but I’d like for you to look into it when you had some free time. Maybe you’ll have some better luck.” Hanz says before explaining the issue. “I’m looking for seventh stage demon. He accidentally stole something from me. I don’t really care overall, but the deed is done and I require reparations. I’ve sent out multiple people looking for this person, but most of them have either died or lost their memories. If you smell anything fishy on the road, let me know.” He asks, throwing it out as a ‘just in case’.

Taylor’s eyes widen. A seventh stage demon that erases memories? Haven’t I seen one of those? He asks himself, recalling the cultivator who was staying at his mom’s territory. “What do you intend to do with him?” Taylor asks cautiously. If this was going to be the start of a blood feud he’d rather stay out of it.

“Do with him? I want to recruit him. I could use someone with his abilities.” Hanz says casually.

“Ughh… Okay.” Taylor says, before deciding to just say it. “I can tell you but I’d rather not get involved, if you know what I mean. I’d like to keep my name out of it just in case things get ugly.” He says, waiting for Hanz’s confirmation.

Hanz’s eyes widen. Taylor, my lucky star. He thinks with a smile. “Just tell me. I’ll approach him personally. Peacefully, of course.” He says, intending to follow through.

“He’s hiding up north. On the prairies. A place called Gold City.” Taylor says, spilling the beans.

Hanz lets out a chuckle. “Taylor, my boy. I knew you would be good to have around. Good job. I’ll send a treat your way as a thank you.” He says before hanging up.

“I’m not a fucking dog… Prick…” Taylor grumbles.