In the hospital, the man's breath was becoming weaker and weaker.
He struggled to keep his eyes open, the whites of his eyes rolling up:
"Doctor, I'm in so much pain, am I going to die?"
The chief surgeon looked at the monitor display, the man's blood pressure was dropping.
He comforted:
"No, don't think too much."
He gasped for breath, pleading weakly:
"Doctor, please, save me, save me.
I don't want to die, I want to get married."
His name was Du Yangming, his parents died early, and his grandmother who raised him until high school also passed away.
Du Yangming worked part-time to support himself, saving on food and clothing, and managed to get into a top teacher's college through hard work.
A child without support grew into an outstanding teacher who could stand on his own.
From having nothing as a teacher, to saving enough for a down payment, and having a girlfriend who loved him.
This is an inspirational story of hardship and reward.
Unfortunately, it's also a tragedy that's hard to let go.
The chief surgeon's phone rang, it was the nurse sent to pick up the bride-to-be.
He picked up the phone, and the tearful voice on the line was that of the bride-to-be.
The chief surgeon handed the phone to Du Yangming's ear:
"The bride's on the phone."
The man's eyes lit up, struggling to keep his increasingly heavy eyes open:
"Mingyue, I might not be able to wait for you."
The voice on the phone choked with suppressed sobs:
"You can wait, you can wait, just hold on for me, I'm almost there."
The man smiled, and closed his eyes.
This could be considered leaving in the softness of his beloved's words, quite comforting.
The chief surgeon took a look at the ECG, sighed:
"Go prepare the morgue paperwork."
He said, and walked out, having other patients to attend to.
This kind of thing happens every day in the emergency room.
The nurse silently covered the man's head with a white sheet.
...
The man slowly opened his eyes, seeing a white curtain, a white ceiling, and hearing the sound of machines nearby.
This was still that emergency room.
Earlier it seemed he had a dream, dreamt he died.
Beside the bed, a doctor was watching him quietly.
This doctor was different from the previous one.
Taller, wearing a mask, with youthful features visible under it.
The man said:
"Doctor, I don't seem to be in as much pain as before, will I get better?"
The doctor shook his head:
"No, you will die."
The words were heartless, cold.
The man had anticipated this, looking at the doctor hopefully:
"Then, can I wait for her?"
The doctor shook his head again:
"You won't be able to wait."
This doctor spoke very harshly.
The man stared at the ceiling, thoughts scattered, mumbling:
"I don't want to die, I don't want to die."
The doctor said:
"Living isn't hard, it depends on how you want to live."
The man felt the doctor was implying something.
He struggled to suppress his weakness, speaking with anticipation, yearning, and appeasement:
"As long as I can live, I'll do anything.
I want to live, save me.
Doctor, as long as I can live, any way is fine, any cost will do!
Does the hospital have any method?"
His mind wasn't functioning well, absurdly hoping the hospital had some covert human experiment that could keep him alive.
"Are you truly willing to pay any price to live?"
The doctor slowly stood up, the air seemed to become heavy, the whole emergency room sunk into oppressive silence.
The man's eyes showed panic.
The doctor's appearance changed, he wasn't human!
He turned into a skeleton wearing a white coat and a mask!
Was this an illusion or reality?
If it was real, was the Death God visiting me before I died?
"What price must I pay?! No matter what, I'm willing!" The man exclaimed eagerly.
Li Yang's eye sockets burned with Soul Fire, he took a wooden jar from his pocket, a hoarse voice emerging from his mouth:
"You will lose the life of an ordinary human.
You will become a Demon, a Demon lurking in the Mortal World.
Ready to follow my orders at any time."
The man's breath became rapid:
"I am willing!"
As long as he could live, anything would do.
Li Yang poured the Desire Potion from the wooden jar into the man's mouth.
In the potion was this man's desire.
This man's desire was to live.
Li Yang withdrew the Power of Death that maintained the man's dialogue with himself.
The man drank the potion, his heart started beating again, the equipment connected to him showed his vital signs were recovering.
Mystical information entered the man's mind.
[Vampire.]
[The beloved of the Death God, ruler of the night, master of Black Magic.]
[A Vampire is immortal, wounds no matter how severe will heal.]
[At night, a Vampire's wounds will heal rapidly.]
[Vampires are undying, the only way to kill a Vampire is for the Vampire's Demon Body to be directly exposed to the sun.]
[Talent: Blood Absorption]
[Blood Absorption: Consuming blood increases Spiritual Power.]
With such severe burn injuries, as long as he turned into a Vampire now, he could recover swiftly.
However, the man wasn't foolish enough to turn into a Vampire in the hospital.
"Come find me tonight."
Li Yang gave an address to the man, telling him to come to the villa in the evening.
He intended to make this man his Apostle.
He greatly appreciated this man.
Li Yang was a medical school graduate, fully aware of the man's injuries, such injuries would not allow him to live long.
Yet this man had stubbornly held on with sheer willpower, he was determined and steadfast.
Furthermore, the man was dying, with only a fiancée rushing over, indicating his small social circle.
These two points together met Li Yang's criteria.
So Li Yang was generous with his Apostle, giving him the entire Desire Potion.
An Apostle with low combat power was unacceptable.
After doing all this, Li Yang turned head and walked out of the emergency room, crumpling the white coat he wore into a ball and throwing it into the trash.
A woman, tears streaming down her face, brushed past him, rushing into the emergency room led by a nurse.
A while later, the chief surgeon returned to the emergency room with a look of shock on his face.
With the lead of the chief surgeon, the nurses and the woman pushed the man's gurney into the operating room.
One nurse watched them, wiped her tears, and sighed:
"This is love.
They stand on the summit of love, mocking Death God's incompetence."
Li Yang put on a round cap, lowered its brim, and walked out.
...
At night, a swarm of black bats swept past the full moon, circling over the Half-Mountain Villa.
The bats landed on the ground, gathering together to form a man.
In the villa's courtyard, the crows and Black Dog playing around looked towards that man at the entrance together.
He wore a hospital gown, bandages wrapped around his body.
Du Yangming sensed a peculiar aura from the crows and the Black Dog.
He understood these crows and Black Dog, like himself, were not normal creatures.
Du Yangming felt a bit nervous.
This mansion was the dwelling of that presence.
The luxurious villa exuded a suffocating oppressive feeling like a beast, making it almost hard to breathe.
Under the watchful eyes of the crows and Black Dog, he mustered his courage and walked into the villa's grand door.
He came by invitation, not daring to be late.
...
Vampire: