Han Yu's eyes widened slightly.
"His body," he said quietly. "His torso was the anchor."
For the first time since the battle ended, Madam Cold Fang's expression shifted.
"That is correct," she said.
Han Yu felt a chill run down his spine that had nothing to do with the cold air.
A corpse as an anchor was not unheard of. Some Wraiths were bound to bones, particularly skulls or spinal columns that endured longer than flesh. But even then, such anchors were stationary.
They could not move.
But Danqing Xun's anchor had moved.
"His torso," Han Yu repeated slowly. "Preserved. Intact. Capable of movement."
His mind raced through the implications.
A preserved physical anchor meant the Wraith was not bound to a single location. It meant mobility. It meant range.
It meant danger.
"That should not have been possible," Han Yu said. "Wraith formation takes time. During that time, the body decays. Even if the bones remain, the flesh should have long since rotted away."
