'Pond and Grove' is a Wandering Tale in Where Winds Meet set around the Li Estate in Kaifeng. The story is simple on paper – a servant loses a pouch of medicine meant for the estate’s daughter – but players often get stuck locating a drunk NPC and the pouch itself. This walkthrough focuses on the exact locations and the small time-skip requirement that can be easy to miss.
Where Pond and Grove takes place and how to start it
Pond and Grove is tied to the Li Estate on the eastern side of Kaifeng City, within the Kaifeng region. The closest teleport point is the Prosperity Haven waypoint, which drops you near the estate entrance.
Step 1: Teleport to Prosperity Haven in Kaifeng. From the waypoint, head toward the Li Estate entrance; the Wandering Tale marker will appear just outside the estate grounds.
Step 2: Speak with Wu Xingping, the Li Estate servant standing outside the estate. Talking to him starts Pond and Grove. During this conversation, he explains that he has lost a Herb Pouch containing medicine prepared for the Li family’s daughter.
Finding Wang Qi, the drunkard NPC
The next step is to track down the drunk man who saw what happened to the pouch. Many players get stuck here because he is easy to overlook and not marked clearly at first.
Step 1: Leave the Li Estate area and move toward the Imperial Palace district to the north-east of Kaifeng City. Look for the main waterway and the bridges leading toward the palace.
Step 2: On the northern bridge to the Imperial Palace, look for a man lying down on the ground. This NPC is Wang Qi, the drunkard linked to the quest. His model appears slumped or resting rather than standing, which makes him easy to miss if you only scan for upright NPCs.
Step 3: Talk to Wang Qi. During the dialogue, he explains that he saw the Herb Pouch drifting away with the current and mentions that it went downhill to the east. This line is the key clue for the next step.
Where to find the Herb Pouch
The Herb Pouch is not floating in the water when you arrive. Instead, it has already washed up and is sitting in a discreet spot near the Imperial Palace area, which makes it easy to run past.
Step 1: From Wang Qi’s position on the northern bridge, follow the direction he describes by moving downstream and east along the waterway that leads away from the bridge toward the Imperial Palace grounds.
Step 2: As you approach the outer area of the Imperial Palace, search the bank near the water. The Herb Pouch is placed on a rock behind a tree close to the shore, not in the middle of the path. Look carefully around rocks and tree trunks along the eastern side of the stream.
Step 3: Interact with the glowing prompt on the rock to pick up the Herb Pouch. Once you have it in your inventory, the objective updates and directs you back to Wu Xingping at the Li Estate.
Returning the Herb Pouch to Wu Xingping
With the Herb Pouch recovered, you need to hand it back to Xingping to move the story forward. The quest does not end here, which can be misleading if you expect the rewards immediately.
Step 1: Teleport back to Prosperity Haven or ride back to the Li Estate entrance.
Step 2: Find Wu Xingping again. After the pouch is recovered, he stands on the stairs leading into the Li Estate rather than precisely where he was originally.
Step 3: Talk to Wu Xingping. When prompted, choose the “Give” option to hand over the Herb Pouch. This completes the immediate delivery, and Xingping reacts with relief that the medicine for the daughter has been recovered.
At this point, many players assume the Wandering Tale is complete. However, Pond and Grove has one final stage that only appears after some in-game time passes.
Skipping time and speaking with Fang Nai
The last part of Pond and Grove requires a short time skip and a follow-up conversation with another NPC at the Li Estate gate.
Step 1: Open the in-game time controls and skip forward two days. The in-game interface allows you to advance the calendar in full days; push it ahead by at least two. This ensures all related NPC states are updated.
Step 2: After the time skip completes, return to the Li Estate entrance if you are elsewhere. A new NPC, Fang Nai, appears outside the estate.
Step 3: Speak with Fang Nai. She thanks you for helping recover the medicine pouch and helping the Li family’s daughter. This dialogue is the actual endpoint of the Wandering Tale.
Pond and Grove rewards
Finishing the conversation with Fang Nai grants the full Pond and Grove rewards tied to Kaifeng progression:
| Reward | Amount / Effect |
|---|---|
| Echo Jade | 20 |
| Kaifeng Exploration | 10 points toward Kaifeng region exploration |
| Coin | 1500 |
| Character EXP | 2250 experience |
If any of these rewards are missing, make sure the final dialogue with Fang Nai has been completed after skipping the two in-game days. Simply returning the Herb Pouch to Wu Xingping is not enough to fully resolve the Wandering Tale.
Pond and Grove is short once the NPC locations are clear. The main sticking points are finding Wang Qi on the northern Imperial Palace bridge, spotting the Herb Pouch on a rock behind a tree, and remembering to advance time by two days before returning to the estate. With those details handled, the story resolves cleanly and adds a small but satisfying vignette to Kaifeng’s broader Wandering Tales.
