Character	Ya Long
Appearance	The Journey
Media	Chinese Drama
Type	Obsessive
Love Interest	Ye Yin

Ya Long is a vampire who never ages and is almost impossible to kill. Initially, Ya Long is ruthless and treats humans as nothing but food. However, after meeting Ye Yin, he slowly learned to empathize more with them.

SPOILERS AND PERSONAL OPINION

Ye Yin first met Ya Long in the Qin Dynasty when she wound up in trouble. This was Ye Yin’s first attempt at time-travelling back to the past to carry out a mission. Ya Long saved her, claiming to have known her since over 700 years ago, and even stated that she was his bride to-be. Of course, Ye Yin knew nothing of this sorts, and insisted that the two had never met. However, it was quite obvious that Ya Long had not been mistaken, as he had successfully recalled Ye Yin’s name, her magical cards, and her modern gadgets, such as a handphone.

Although Ye Yin feared Ya Long for being a vampire, her kind-heartedness still allowed her to get along with Ya Long to a certain degree. Throughout the journey, Ya Long also saved her multiple times and helped her out whenever she needed. As such, they developed trust and Ye Yin began to treat Ya Long as a friend.

The next time they met was in the Shang Dynasty. This time, Ye Yin knew Ya Long, and was happy to see her friend. However, Ya Long was annoyed by Ye Yin, stating that he had never been acquainted with her, and will never treat human beings as anything more than food.

In terms of timeline, this was actually true. Shang Dynasty came before Qin. To Ya Long, his first meeting with Ye Yin was in the Shang Dynasty, which was also why he claimed to have met her since long ago when they met again in Qin Dynasty.

Ye Yin figured out this too. Knowing what would happen in the future, she tried to warn Ya Long multiple times not to love her, or to make her his bride. Of course, Ya Long thought that Ye Yin’s suggestions was ridiculous. How could a high and mighty vampire like him fall in love with his food??

But what Ya Long didn’t realize was that he exists in a ridiculous Chinese drama, so all that was possible. Lo and behold, he ended up swearing that he would wait for Ye Yin however long it takes. And he promised that he would one day make Ye Yin his vampire bride.

Ya Long lived up to his words. He would wait for Ye Yin for several hundred years, just for a chance to meet her again in the future. He did not know when they may meet again; she had only told him she came from the future, nothing more. The wait was long, but for Ya Long who had an eternity, finding Ye Yin mattered so much more. To Ya Long, it was worth it.

Due to the amount of time it takes for Ya Long to finally meet Ye Yin, and also his lack of empathy for human feelings, often times, Ya Long insist on making Ye Yin his bride regardless of her wishes. However, he never harmed her, or anyone else to achieve his goal. In fact, despite his harsh demeanor, and not taking ‘no’ for an answer, it can be seen that he does deeply care for Ye Yin and her happiness. He simply found it hard to understand from her perspective and once he did, he made tremendous changes for Ye Yin.

The huge changes in Ya Long took place in the third arc of the series, where Ye Yin and him met again, this time in Tang Dynasty. Since the beginning, Ya Long had never killed humans unnecessarily; he only did so to feed, or when they posted serious troubles to him. However, as Ye Yin was still uncomfortable with Ya Long killing humans, she implored him to feed on animals like cows and other livestock instead. She also encouraged him to not kill humans if he could.

Animal blood tasted dull and disgusting to Ya Long, and humans normally try to exterminate vampires out of worry for their own lives. However, since Ye Yin asked, Ya Long changed his way of life, and tried his best for the sake of Ye Yin.

Later, they met again in Ming Dynasty. By then, Ye Yin had already developed romantic feelings for him. However, as she was instructed not to become close to Ya Long, who is not human, she acted harshly towards him.

After thousands of years waiting, Ya Long met up with Ye Yin, only for her to tell him that they should not meet anymore. In a heated moment, she even told him that he cannot even do something as simple as to watch the sunrise together with her. As such, he should just give up on being with her.

Although hurt, Ya Long did not give up. Instead, he searched for ways to enable him to withstand sunlight. His efforts paid off, and he was finally able to stay under the sun without perishing. However, he also gained a permanent scar, extending from his neck to the lower jaw.

The next time they met was in the modern time, which was also where Ye Yin originally came from. Ya Long had persisted through the different dynasties, and finally made it to the timeline where Ye Yin existed. To find her, he had searched everywhere, scanning even CCTVs, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. Luckily, he had casted a spell on the bracelet that Ye Yin always wore, and his own bracelet will react when they are close. Using this perk, he managed to find Ye Yin’s location and reunite with her.

Towards the end, it was revealed that they have known each other from way longer before. To be exact, from their past life. In their past life, they belonged in the celestial world, Ya Long was the head of his clan, Si Ling, and Ye Yin was Yi Sha. They had also loved each other in the past, but due to a mistake they had made, was forced to be reincarnated into the mortal world and redeem themselves.

Unfortunately, due to the intervention of Si Yin, Ye Yin’s master (or Shifu), Ye Yin and Ya Long could not be together. Not in their past life, and also not in the present. After a short reunion with Ye Yin in the modern world, Ya Long and Si Yin fought ferociously to put an end to their feuds. However, neither of them were victorious, and ended up perishing. In his last moments, Ya Long still worries for Ye Yin, and wished her wellness.

I really liked Ya Long. Although both him and Si Yin loved Ye Yin so much, how they approach the situation was completely different.

Ya Long is willing to wait thousands of years for the short moments of interactions with Ye Yin. Although he was insistent on her marrying him in the beginning, he soon learned to respect her wishes and strived hard for Ye Yin to reciprocate his feelings instead.

He was also willing to change for Ye Yin. When she told him to stop hurting humans and to feed on animal blood instead, he was willing to do it, even if it takes a lot of effort to make such a great change in his way of life.

When Ye Yin questioned if he can see the sunrise with her due to him being a vampire, he searched and took great lengths to enable himself to see the sun again. This was not an easy feat, as each time he failed, he was left with burns. And when he finally succeeded, he was left with a permanent scar.

Ya Long’s love for Ye Yin lasted through thousands of years, from his past life to the current one. He was extremely patient and understanding towards Ye Yin, respecting her wishes and caring for her needs.

There is one thing I cannot stand about him though: his terrible wardrobe. I understand that he is a vampire, but does that means he have to wear 10 sets of eyelashes on his upper eyelid, and 3 shorter ones on the bottom?? Does that means he has to have long white hair dry that is dry like straws? Does it means he have to spot an funky outfit like a 2D anime character, or more specifically, Koro-sensei? For the record, feel free to compare the two outfits below:

With all sincerity, I hoped that the production team could have spent less budget on Ya Long’s mascara and fake eyelashes, and more budget on his hair and outfit. With online shopping so prevalent nowadays, I believe it shouldn’t be too hard to get him a silkier wig and a cooler vampire outfit.

Ugly character design aside, I also find his character a bit under-explored. It is clear that while Ye Yin was time-travelling back and forth carrying out her tasks, Ya Long had a linear timeline, and had waited for Ye Yin for thousands of years. But throughout the timeline, aside from minor changes in his outfit, the rest of him is relatively unchanged. I find that hard to believe; does he not do anything else other than to wait for Ye Yin during those thousands of years?

What about his hobbies, pastimes, and other aspects of his life? Did he not have any forms of entertainment and occupation? Did he just sleep in his coffin all the time until Ye Yin appears? It was as if he was only active when Ye Yin appeared, as if he did not have a life of his own.

When Ya Long progressed into the modern society, how did he survive if he did not assimilate into the environment? Did he not have a job, or an apartment to live in? Did he live as a hobo during the times he was searching for Ye Yin? So many questions that I have, but I guess I will never know.

Despite all this, I still find Ya Long a very likeable character, just because he truly loved Ye Yin from the beginning till the end, for thousands of years no less. He cared for her and respected her, and always arrived to help her when she needed it. For Ye Yin, he was selfless, always compromising and sacrificing for her.

I would definitely recommend watching this show. Despite its low-budget settings, the show is funny and Ya Long is a joy to watch. You would definitely like him a lot, out of all the characters in the drama.