Ballads and Pawprints in Where Winds Meet – Full Encounter Walkthrough

Ballads and Pawprints is an Encounter quest in Kaifeng City that revolves around Old Jun and his missing dog, Ha Ha. The story plays out over several in-game days and uses time-of-day triggers, eavesdropping, a short combat section, and a small fetch objective before the two are reunited.

Quest requirements and location

Ballads and Pawprints becomes available once you have reached Kaifeng City. The encounter takes place in the Forsaken Quarter, near the Ash Pit, where Old Jun and Ha Ha perform.

Old Jun does not appear all day. He only shows up outside the Ash Pit during two time windows: Wei hour (13:00–15:00) and You hour (17:00–19:00). If you arrive outside those hours, you need to advance time using the in-game time-change menu.

How to unlock Ballads and Pawprints

Step 1: Go to the Forsaken Quarter in Kaifeng and head to the Ash Pit entrance during Wei or You hour. Look for Old Jun sitting beside his dog, Ha Ha.

Step 2: Interact with Old Jun and tip him 5 coins. This does not start the encounter yet, but it counts toward unlocking it.

Step 3: Open the time menu and advance to the next in-game day. Return to the Ash Pit again during Wei or You hour and tip Old Jun another 5 coins.

Step 4: Repeat the time-skip and tipping sequence a third time. On the third day, after you tip Old Jun, the Ballads and Pawprints encounter triggers, and you can begin the quest properly.

Day 1: Watch Old Jun and Ha Ha perform

Step 1: After the encounter unlocks, talk to Old Jun at the Ash Pit. He sings while Ha Ha accompanies him, introducing their daily life in the Forsaken Quarter.

Step 2: When the scene ends, the objective moves to the next day. Use the time menu to advance to the following in-game day so you can continue the encounter.

Day 2: Ha Ha goes missing

Step 1: Return to Old Jun at the Ash Pit on the next day, again during Wei or You hour. Ha Ha is no longer with him, and Old Jun is distressed.

Step 2: Speak to Old Jun. He explains that Ha Ha has disappeared and asks you to investigate the nearby Unbound Cavern’s hideout, a known trouble spot under the Ash Pit area.

Investigate the Unbound Cavern hideout

Step 1: Follow the quest marker to Unbound Cavern’s hideout below the Ash Pit. Proceed through the dim corridors until you spot Unbound Cavern members gathered near a large cooking pot.

Step 2: Approach carefully and listen to their conversation before engaging. They talk about food and scraps, raising the suspicion that Ha Ha might be involved.

Step 3: Defeat the Unbound Cavern members. Once they are down, interact with the large pot and inspect its contents. The pot turns out to contain only vegetable scraps, confirming they are not cooking Ha Ha.

Search the alleys and confront the beggar children

Step 1: Leave the hideout and follow the new quest marker deeper into the Forsaken Quarter’s alleys. You will eventually see two beggar children, Xiaofeng and Xiao Yu, standing near a cage.

Step 2: Hide behind nearby cover, such as a rack or haystack, and eavesdrop on their conversation. They admit to trapping an animal, which makes them your next lead.

Step 3: Step out and talk to the children. After confronting them, check the cage they were guarding. When you open it, a frightened kitten bolts out and escapes, confirming this is not Ha Ha.

Step 4: With no solid lead left, return to Old Jun at the Ash Pit and report what you discovered at the hideout and the cage.

Find Ha Ha with Granny Ren

Step 1: After hearing your report, Old Jun decides to join the search. You travel together through the Forsaken Quarter until the quest marker leads you to Granny Ren’s home.

Step 2: Talk to Granny Ren outside her house. There is another cage near her, and this time Ha Ha is inside, clearly weak and ill rather than injured by enemies.

Step 3: Inspect the cage to confirm Ha Ha’s condition. Granny Ren explains that Ha Ha needs a special herb to recover and asks you to fetch it from the Unbound Cavern area.

Retrieve the herb from Unbound Cavern

Step 1: Head back toward the Unbound Cavern hideout, following the marker. Instead of going deep into the tunnels, look for a small open house near where you earlier fought the Unbound Cavern members.

Step 2: Enter the open house and check the table inside. An herb bag lies there among bowls and tools. Interact with it to pick up the special herb required for Ha Ha’s treatment.

Step 3: Return to Granny Ren’s home with the herb bag. Speak with her so she can prepare and administer the medicine to Ha Ha. After taking the medicine, Ha Ha gradually regains strength.

Final day: Return to the Ash Pit

Step 1: Once Ha Ha has been treated, you are asked to come back to the Ash Pit one more time. Use the time menu to advance to the next in-game day and set it to Wei hour.

Step 2: Go back to Old Jun’s usual spot at the Ash Pit during Wei hour. Ha Ha is now healthy again and resting beside him.

Step 3: Talk to Old Jun. He and Ha Ha perform once more, closing out the Encounter and completing Ballads and Pawprints.

Ballads and Pawprints rewards

Ballads and Pawprints is short, but the time-of-day requirement and multi-day tipping can make it easy to miss. Once you understand that Old Jun only appears at Wei and You hours and that you must tip him three separate in-game days, the rest of the encounter is straightforward: clear the Unbound Cavern hideout, follow the trail through the alleys, help Granny Ren cure Ha Ha, and return to the Ash Pit for the final performance and rewards.