Where Winds Meet: Behind the Bronzehead Walkthrough (Mirkvale Part 5)

Two kids in Mirkvale have decided that the masked craftsman Xiaoba is hiding something under all that bronze, and they want you in on the investigation. Behind the Bronzehead is the fifth Wandering Tale in the Mirkvale set, and it is short — the only thing that trips people up is that the final scene refuses to happen until the in-game clock hits the right hour.

Quick answer: Talk to Xiaoguan and Zha at Hangrock Hamlet, buy Xiaoba a meal at the market food cart, then drop into the flooded cavern below the water wheel, set the time to the Xu hour (8 PM), and swim out to Xiaoba to finish the tale.

Requirements before starting Behind the Bronzehead

Mirkvale sits deep in the valley below Heaven’s Threshold, the high-altitude region added to Hidden Mountain in Version 2.1. The area opened up for players once the Cloudstair was rebuilt during the Cloudtop Ascent event, so if you can already reach Heaven’s Threshold, you can reach Mirkvale.

You also want the Hangrock Hamlet fast travel point active. The entire tale plays out within a short run of that point, and without it you are climbing down through the mine by hand.

Behind the Bronzehead rewards

Reward	Amount
Echo Jade	30
Hidden Mountain exploration	10
Coin	3,750
Stored EXP	3,750

Everything lands in one batch when the closing dialogue ends. There is no combat and no boss attached to this one.

How to complete Behind the Bronzehead in Mirkvale

Open the Exploration menu, go to Wandering Tales, and track Behind the Bronzehead under the Mirkvale grouping. Then open the world map and fast travel to Hangrock Hamlet.

World map open on the Hidden Mountain and Heaven's Threshold region with a tracked objective highlighted — The world map showing the Hidden Mountain and Heaven’s Threshold area, where Mirkvale and the Hangrock Hamlet travel point sit.

From the landing point, walk up the wooden stairs and find Xiaoguan and Zha standing together. Speak to them to pick up the first clue and sign on to their plan.

Check the Wandering Tales entry if you want the framing. The opening clue explains that the pair invited Xiaoba to dine with them under a false pretext, purely so they can watch his face while he eats.

Wandering Tales details panel with the Behind the Bronzehead entry selected and its synopsis shown — The Wandering Tales details panel with Behind the Bronzehead selected, showing the clue text as it updates.

Head down into the market area nearby and look for Xiaoba standing beside a food cart. Talk to him and treat him to the meal. A short transition plays, after which Xiaoguan turns up to complain that the plan failed and to float the next idea.

The clue updates to the swimming plan, on the logic that a heavy bronze mask surely has to come off in water. Drop toward the mine lake below by gliding past the large water wheels into the lower cavern.

Character moving through a dark flooded mine cavern with the Figure out what's happening objective active — The flooded cavern beneath the water wheels, with the “Figure out what’s happening” objective pointing toward the water.

Open the Time menu and move the clock forward to the Xu hour, which is 8 PM. Advancing to the following day is fine as long as you land on night.

In-game time menu with an evening hour selected and the option to advance to the next day — The Time menu, used here to push the clock into the evening hours before heading to the water.

Return to the water. Xiaoguan and Zha will be waiting on the shore while Xiaoba floats out in the lake. Swim over to him and interact to trigger the closing scene.

Player character in the mine lake with an Intoxicated status effect showing during the final objective — Reaching Xiaoba out in the mine lake, the final interaction that closes the tale.

How to confirm the quest completed

The shore conversation between Xiaoba, Xiaoguan, and Zha plays out, and the Wandering Tale closes with its ending line — Xiaoba admits he has never seen his own face either, but he is certain that beneath the bronze he wears the exact same smile. The completion banner for Behind the Bronzehead follows, along with the Echo Jade, Hidden Mountain progress, Coin, and Stored EXP payout.

Why the lake scene will not trigger

It is not night yet. Xiaoba only shows up in the water around the Xu hour. Swimming out during the day gets you nothing.
You skipped the meal. The swimming clue only appears after you buy Xiaoba food at the market cart and sit through the follow-up conversation with Xiaoguan.
You are at the wrong body of water. The scene is set in the flooded cavern below the water wheels, not in the hamlet above.

Xiaoba himself is worth keeping an eye on beyond this tale. He is the red-cloaked craftsman tied to the wider Mirkvale campaign, the mechanisms of the Diversion Complex, and a scattering of odd inventions hidden around the valley, so the bronze mask keeps turning up long after the kids have given up on peeking under it.