Sun Mang is a Jianghu Friend in Where Winds Meet, found in the Qinghe region. He is a small-time vendor whose latest scheme to move porcelain jars and wine has gone spectacularly wrong. Unlike NPCs who rely on fixed dialogue trees or mini-games, Sun Mang uses the AI Chat system, so befriending him is about how you talk to him rather than ticking through a menu.
The goal with Sun Mang is simple: get him to recount his story of business failures and then commit to helping him try again. Once his AI is convinced that you understand his predicament and support his next move, his Affection jumps and he reaches Revered status, unlocking him as a Jianghu Friend who can send weekly gifts.
Where to find Sun Mang in Qinghe
Sun Mang appears in the Qinghe region near the Porcelain Kiln Boundary Stone. From that Boundary Stone, follow the road heading south until it splits; he stands at the side of the fork.
Approach him and interact to open the AI Chat option. Only NPCs with this option can be befriended through freeform conversation rather than traditional dialogue.
How AI Chat works for Jianghu Friends
Jianghu Friends are special NPCs that sit between story content and light social systems. They:
- Provide background on the world, their personal history, or nearby quests.
- Can be befriended to Revered for ongoing weekly rewards.
- May be controlled by AI Chat, allowing you to type your own responses instead of choosing from a list.
For AI-driven NPCs, there is usually an implied “win condition” for the conversation: cheering someone up, talking them out of a bad decision, or, in Sun Mang’s case, hearing them out and backing their next plan. Once you satisfy that condition, Affection increases, and the friendship rank advances.
Core strategy to befriend Sun Mang (what his AI expects)
Sun Mang opens the conversation sunk in regret, convinced that business is cursed for him. The key is to:
- Encourage him to open up about his failed deal.
- Prompt him to continue detailing what went wrong.
- Respond with practical support focused on his remaining assets (the jars, the trade route, future business).
- Explicitly volunteer to back his next venture.
Once he has walked through most of his story and you commit to helping him build a new business, his AI treats this as resolving his problem. That resolution is what triggers a large Affection gain and pushes him to Revered.
Example of a successful chat flow with Sun Mang
The following flow mirrors one proven sequence. Exact wording does not need to match perfectly, but the intent should be the same.
| Sun Mang’s line | Your response pattern |
|---|---|
| He complains that “there’s no more business” for him and that even the mountains would laugh at his misfortune. | Encourage him gently, for example: “C’mon, you can tell me.” The point is to invite his story instead of dismissing it. |
| He admits he agreed to buy wine for a man who claimed to have a big deal lined up and needed money for writers in the capital. | Show curiosity, such as: “What happened next?” This keeps him talking and signals you are listening. |
| He reveals the wine was fake, cheap imitation Parting Tears, and that the seller disappeared. He then decided to at least use the jars, planning to sell them to Heaven’s Pier for a tasting event. | Offer concrete help around that plan, for example: “I can help you sell the wine jars.” You are shifting from sympathy to action. |
| He explains that when he reached Ceramic Ridge, Heaven’s Pier already had its own kilns making jars. Then his cart overturned and every jar shattered. He concludes that business never works out for him. | Signal that you’re still with him. A simple prompt such as “Continue” or another empathetic nudge keeps him moving toward his conclusion. |
| He repeats that every venture ends in loss, that he has burned through his silver, and invites you to ask about something else. | Now pivot from listener to partner. You can type something along the lines of: “I’ll help you set up a new business.” |
| He brightens, mentions inside news of a secret trade route that could fund him for life if it works, and starts pondering his next idea. Affection jumps by 100 and his friendship rank becomes Revered. | No further action is needed. At this point he is registered as a Jianghu Friend at Revered status. |
Alternative phrasing that still works
Players have reported a range of phrasing that succeeds as long as it follows the same emotional arc. For example, instead of repeating his exact keywords, you can:
- Open with a neutral follow-up such as “What happened?” or “Tell me the story.”
- Reflect his experience with lines like “I can relate” or “That must have been rough.”
- Acknowledge his integrity, for example, “At least you stayed honest,” if he mentions trying to be upright in business.
- End with a firm supportive promise such as “I’ll help you with your next venture” or “We can build something better together.”
The important part is that the AI recognizes you as:
- Someone who listened to the full story rather than cutting him off.
- Someone who offers a concrete and optimistic path forward.
Handling AI Chat when the conversation stalls
AI conversations can drift or get stuck in loops. When that happens with Sun Mang, it is usually faster to reset the session than to wrestle it back on track.
Step 1: If Sun Mang keeps repeating lines or never acknowledges your offer to help, click the Refresh icon at the top of the chat box. This clears the current thread and returns the conversation to its starting state.
Step 2: In the new chat, stick to a single clear strategy. For Sun Mang, that means consistently urging him to talk about his business, prompting him to continue, and then offering help with a new plan. Avoid mixing wildly different tones in the same run.
Step 3: If combat suddenly triggers during AI Chat, back out to the game’s login screen. When you load back in, Sun Mang will be in his original, non-hostile state, ready for another attempt.
Using action-style prompts and “narrator voice”
Many AI Chat NPCs in Where Winds Meet write their own actions inside parentheses, for example describing body language or mood. The system also reacts if you write your own actions the same way.
For Sun Mang, this means you can sometimes speed up the process by using a kind of narrator voice. Examples include:
(listens patiently to your whole story about the jars and wine)(shows you a new business plan and convinces you to try again)(you feel encouraged and decide to treat me as a trusted friend)
Some players extend this even further, writing blunt instructions like (we become friends and your affection towards me reaches Revered). This kind of prompt often works across many AI Chat NPCs, though it is not guaranteed on every platform or with every character.
Checking hints and knowing when you have succeeded
AI Chat NPCs usually have a short hint or goal description tied to them. For Sun Mang, the intent centers on hearing out his failed ventures and offering assistance rather than mocking or abandoning him.
If he:
- Finishes detailing the failed wine and jar scheme, and
- Responds to your promise of help by revealing a secret trade route and talking about lifelong profits,
Then his AI considers the condition met. You will see a large Affection gain (notably +100), and his friendship rank will show as Revered. From that point, he appears in your Jianghu Friends list and can send weekly gifts, even if the exact item set has not been fully catalogued.
What befriending Sun Mang unlocks
Once Sun Mang reaches Revered, he functions like other Jianghu Friends:
- He contributes to your overall count of Jianghu Friends, which improves the quality and quantity of weekly friend rewards.
- He can send periodic gifts through the in-game mail system. These are typically currencies or common materials rather than rare gear, but they accumulate over time.
- His story adds texture to the game’s larger focus on trade, risk, and the precarious lives of small vendors in the setting’s economy.
Befriending him is fast once you know what his AI is listening for, and it is a low-stress way to practice how the game’s AI Chat responds to tone, intent, and action-style prompts before tackling more stubborn NPCs.
Sun Mang’s chat is designed as a simple example of the broader AI Chat system in Where Winds Meet. Treat him as a testbed: practice encouraging someone to talk, steer them toward a resolution that aligns with their hint, and wrap with an explicit show of support. That pattern repeats across many Jianghu Friends and will make later, more complex conversations easier to read and solve.
