Lantern in the Night

My name is Li Erya. Yes, that 'Er' and that 'Ya'. My father said a humble name makes for an easy life. In the demon-infested Cangwu Realm, I have no background or spiritual veins—I survive on sheer thick skin. As a 'lantern bearer', as long as you pay enough, I dare to carry this shabby lantern and guide you through the underworld. I have no grand ambitions; I just want to save enough spirit stones to buy two acres of land back home and grow hawthorns for candied hawthorns. The jianghu is too dark; only the sweetness in my mouth is real. But who would have thought I'd take this job—to be the guide for Shen Changjue, the 'Living Hell' of Xuanzhu Sect? They say he kills without blinking and only argues with the word 'death'. Now I'm following him, stumbling deeper into the Withered Bone Forest. He coldly clears the way while I count the patches on his clothes from behind (actually, there's not a single wrinkle—annoying). My lantern, Atuan, says this is 'dark under the lamp'. But I think I'm not carrying a lantern through the night; I'm walking a tightrope with a powder keg. Still, no matter—as long as the money's right, I'd even take him to the underworld. As for whether my lantern will still shine after this trip, or whether my heart will still beat... Ahem, heaven's secrets must not be revealed. You'll have to read on.