Quick answer: Open all three magic doors to rouse the Three-Eyed Puppet and claim its tongue. Use a Powderkeg to demolish the broken wall beneath the Valley Sha-Chi Tower, then hand the Puppet’s Tongue to the Mute.
The Crimson Manor is a side quest in Phantom Blade Zero. It runs across several regions before the manor gate opens, and the gate turns out to be a puppet with its tongue missing.
How the Crimson Manor quest starts
In the Village of Lu, find a note titled PUPPET ‘MUTE’ BLUEPRINT. One copy is roughly 29 m away from the Puppet Testing Grounds bell; the other two are about 53 m and 107 m away from it.
The blueprint reads:
“(A puppet with no tongue. “Mute” appears to be its name. Beside it is a separately marked “tongue,” with two short lines written underneath.)
It is both a tongue and a key.
Place Mute in The Crimson Manor.”
The map below marks the blueprint near the Puppet Testing Grounds.
Open the three magic doors
Inside the Herald’s illusion, the THREE-EYED PUPPET has a room to itself, and it is the one with the tongue. Reach it by opening three magic doors. Each door causes one of the puppet’s eyes to open, prompting Soul to comment. Every door opens from its far side, from inside a secret room behind it, and none of them asks for a key. With only one or two doors open, the puppet just calls out to you and hands over nothing.
| Door region | Nearest bell | Distance | Height |
|---|---|---|---|
| Village of Lu | Terraces | About 53 m | Roughly 70 m below |
| Mandate Encampment | Training Grounds Depths | About 16 m | Same height |
| Mountain of Imprisonment (summit path) | The Lady’s Shrine | About 72 m | Roughly 82 m below |
When all three eyes are open, the puppet finally talks. It says the Herald lives in the Crimson Manor, a crimson house beneath the tower, and tells you to give its tongue to the Mute. It also explains that the Herald’s favourite puppet, Number Ninety-Nine, has two crystal eyes. The puppet holds the Yin eye and sends you to find the Yang eye inside.
You receive the CRYSTAL PUPPET EYE [YIN]. Its card reads:
“A crystal puppet eye with a black, fish-shaped form visible within, resembling the Yin half of a taiji symbol.
It forms a pair with another crystal eye containing the Yang half.”
The PUPPET’S TONGUE comes from the puppet at this same point, together with the Yin eye. Its card says:
“A tongue-shaped key made of ceramic or finely polished bone. The three grooves at its base correspond to the three gates within the Herald’s illusion. Every gate it unlocks causes the Three-Eyed Puppet’s tongue to spring a little farther out.”
Blow open the wall beneath the Valley Sha-Chi Tower
The puppet is referring to Valley Sha-Chi Tower in Weeping Creek Valley. You’ll find a cracked wall approximately 24 m away from the Valley Sha-Chi Tower Base bell and around 18 m beneath it. To locate the bell on the map, consult the complete list of bell locations.
At the crack, Soul’s line appears as a prompt: “Maybe I can lure a Powderkeg here to blow this open…”
The tower’s bomb-carrying enemies are Powderkegs; the closest is about 29 m away from the crack. Draw its attention, then lead it to the wall. The explosion will smash through it.
The map below marks the Crimson Manor beside the Valley Sha-Chi Tower.
Give the Puppet’s Tongue to the Mute
The quest log tracks this stretch with three objectives:
- “The Crimson Manor holds the Herald’s secrets”
- “Use the Mute’s Tongue to open the Crimson Manor”
- “Continue exploring to find a way into Crimson Manor.”
The passage beyond the shattered wall leads into the Crimson Manor, with its own bell named CRIMSON MANOR. Ring the bell. The Crimson Manor Main Gate is about 16 m away, and it is the puppet Mute.
If you talk to the Mute without the tongue, you get the objective “Use the Mute’s Tongue to open the Crimson Manor”. With the Puppet’s Tongue in hand, give it to the Mute. The puppet takes it, finds its voice again and thanks you for returning its tongue. Then it opens the gate.
Inside the Crimson Manor: The Puppet Scavenger and the Yang eye
You will find the manor’s boss, THE PUPPET SCAVENGER, roughly 14 m from the Scavenger Pens bell. He is listed alongside all bosses in the game. Expect to stay inside the manor until you have the Yang eye.
Defeat him and you’ll obtain the CRYSTAL PUPPET EYE [YANG]. Its card says:
“A crystal puppet eye with a white, fish-shaped form visible within, resembling the Yang half of a taiji symbol.
It forms a pair with another crystal eye containing the Yin half.”
His drops also include HANSUI’S FROST MASK and the ALLOYED SCYTHE BLADE. The blade is used for Soul Tempering the Hunter’s Chain Sickle, and is one of all Soul Tempering materials in the game.
The rest of the game’s quests are covered under all side quests, and everything else around the tower is listed with the Weeping Creek Valley collectibles.
