Neither Tang Buqi and Xue Canghai, nor Tang Wanzhuang and Vermillion Bird were as shocked as others might have been.0

Cui Wenjing and Yang Jingxiu had specifically examined the corpses, and though they had not publicly disclosed their findings, they had privately discussed their analyses. They had an inkling of what to expect.0

Both of them believed that what the warrior monks received was not just a “blessing” or empowerment.0

If it was truly a blessing, the casting process might require the proximity of the secret realm, but once the blessing was granted, there would be no reason to have to remain close by. Without intense combat to rapidly deplete the blessing, the warrior monks could have easily marched straight to Gusu and Hangzhou. Why would they only be responsible for the defense of Kuaiji?0

Moreover, if it were a simple blessing, decapitating them would not leave their bodies still writhing. Such a phenomenon did not align with a mere blessing.0

Cui Wenjing speculated that it was akin to a kind of gu art, but the autopsy did not reveal any gu insects or worms. Perhaps the gu had dispersed by the time the corpse was brought...0