Quick answer: From the Cavern Passage bell, follow the path to Liu Yi’s voice. Press E at the winch, press E at the cage door, then pick “Who are you?” to start Hero’s Lament.
Liu Yi is a caged prisoner on the Mountain of Imprisonment. Freeing him takes two button presses and one dialogue choice, and it hands you the Hero’s Lament quest.
Where Liu Yi is
Start at the Cavern Passage bell in the Mountain of Imprisonment. It’s a red-wrapped wooden post with small seated figures at its base, next to a dirt clearing. Press E to ring it. You can rest there, and dying sends you back to it.
Liu Yi’s cage is about 42 m from the bell in a straight line, and the walk takes under a minute. You’ll hear him before you see him. Subtitles name him as he grumbles about falling so low, about the Mandate once being unstoppable, and about a world where the righteous are gone. His voice starts near a rock arch.
About 8 m from the Cavern Passage bell, a glint marks a book page on the ground beside stacked crates and jars. It files under the FRAGMENTS OF THE MANDATE collection as “URGENT DISPATCH”, and the text reads: “Senior Brother Wenjie, The captain refused to drink the immortal dew. He has changed completely, intoxicated by that inhuman power… This Transcension… has greatly increased his strength and speed. He is fiercer and more domineering than ever before. If we… please, Senior Brother… Wenyao”
How to free Liu Yi
While the winch turns, Liu Yi tells you to kill him if you must, because he’ll never submit to Transcension. Then he notices you aren’t one of them.
Once the door is open, Liu Yi stands on the deck outside the cage. That’s your sign he’s free and ready to talk.
What Liu Yi tells you
Click the mouse to advance his lines. Your first two choices are “A shortcut to the summit?” and “Who are you?”. You can skip the shortcut question, but it explains the route ahead.
Pick the shortcut and he asks whether you’re on your way up to face Huangxing. He says this path leads to a lift the Mandate used to haul supplies up the mountain. Get it working and Huangxing won’t be far. But the lift crank went missing after the Mandate fell into chaos, so you may have to climb on foot.
Soul then asks “What about the path on the left?” Liu Yi just laughs and wishes you luck. After that, the menu changes to “About the path ahead” and “Who are you?”.
How to start Hero’s Lament
Choose “Who are you?”. Soul asks “Are you one of Huangxing’s men?” Liu Yi says no. He serves Master Moji, and Moji and Huangxing may be brothers but are nothing alike. Moji was gentle yet held firm even against Transcension, a true hero. Huangxing, in his words, is no longer man or monster.
He says he’s running out of time and asks you to bring back any of Master Moji’s belongings you find at the summit, promising to repay the favor.
The quest has started when the HERO’S LAMENT banner appears with the objective “Find Moji’s relic”. Liu Yi’s choices then read “About the path ahead”, “About Moji’s relics” and “Leave”.
The ladder by the hound pack
A second route out of the Cavern Passage bell runs to the foot of a ladder, about 65 seconds of running away. It isn’t part of freeing Liu Yi, but it’s easy to wander into.
A large group of enemies guards that area:
- Hound Trainer
- Frenzied Hounds
- Gold Masks
- Iron Masks
- Fire Archers
- Featherbow Archers
The ladder’s prompt is Space, and it only shows when you stand right at the foot. With hounds on your heels it’s easy to miss, and arriving with hounds and Masks around you drains your health fast.
