Where Winds Meet: Complete Shadows in Bloom quest walkthrough

Shadows in Bloom is a Jianghu Legacy quest in Kaifeng that drops you into the glamorous but dangerous world of the Heroic Assembly. It mixes platforming, social deduction, rhythm mini-games, and a short combat encounter, and it can easily drag on if you miss a single clue.

How to unlock Shadows in Bloom in Kaifeng

Shadows in Bloom becomes available once you reach Kaifeng and can access the Heroic Assembly area. In practice, that usually means progressing the main story through:

• New Guest in Kaifeng
• Gathering of Heroes

Once you are in Kaifeng, look for the Shadows in Bloom Jianghu Legacy marker near the Velvet Shade area by the water. Approaching the gathered crowd there will start the quest.

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Shadows in Bloom Quest Guide

Starts at: 00:04

Quest overview and major steps

Step 1 – Meet the disciple and learn the stakes

Shadows in Bloom opens at the Velvet Shade. Approach the crowd by the water to trigger a cutscene with a Nine Mortal Ways disciple. He mentions Aunt Han’s nickname, Water Lady, and you quickly learn that he is searching for her and for a crucial “list of Faceless Ones.”

Follow the on-screen prompts to chase him: you will leap across poles and rooftops, but the sequence is straightforward and ends in a conversation. He explains that after the Heaven’s Pier fire, a mechanized box with the Faceless Ones list and the Yin-Inscribed Booklet that deciphers it ended up in the hands of the Jiangnan (Jungnan/Jungan) envoy. If the Khitans obtain that list, Aunt Han and northern allies will be in danger, so the plan becomes simple: infiltrate the Heroic Assembly, find the Yin-Inscribed Booklet, and ensure it can’t be used.

Step 2 – Disguise as Master Jiang Yi and pass Bai Rong’s tuning test

After the chase, follow the disciple to a quiet corner. He proposes a disguise: you will impersonate Master Jiang Yi, a renowned young musician, using Jiang Yi’s clothes. Equip the outfit when prompted.

Head to the Heroic Assembly waypoint, where the Revelry Hall Manager stops you and asks who you are. Choose the option to pretend to be Master Jiang Yi rather than a generic VIP guest. This brings Songstress Bai Rong into the scene.

Pass Bai Rong’s tuning mini-game

Bai Rong tests “Master Jiang Yi” by asking you to tune a melody on a set of flower drums. She frames the melody in solfège (Sol, La, Do, Mi, Re) and labels the drums with Chinese scale names. The correct order of drum hits is:

Mechanically, striking a correct drum makes it glow and stay lit. Striking a wrong drum clears all glows and forces you to restart the sequence.

Once the pattern is complete, exhaust the short dialogue with Bai Rong (a playful response fits the role of Jiang Yi well), then speak to the nearby Boatman to travel to Revelry Hall and enter the Heroic Assembly proper.

Step 3 – Explore Revelry Hall and gather 7 clues

Inside Revelry Hall, the quest objective becomes gathering seven clues across three floors. Use the clue-tracking UI (View Clue) if needed, but the tasks can be broken down by floor.

First floor clues (3 total)

The Pitch Pot game plays like a darts-style toss: you line up analog sticks with target circles and throw once they are aligned. Building an early lead makes it forgiving.

The Pipa rhythm challenge against Ling Yuming can look intimidating, but the game is lenient: as long as you hit the prompts around the correct timing, it’s hard to fail. On a controller, hitting all the mapped buttons at once for each note window is a simple way to clear it.

Second floor clues (2 total)

In Gift of Gab, select a style that highlights direct attacks and pay attention when the UI flashes to trigger your defensive or offensive reactions (such as button prompts tied to speech bubbles). Cards that explicitly mention dealing damage should be prioritized.

Third floor clues (2 total)

The queue clue hinges on paying attention to the anxious guests and their talk about peonies and a noble occupant upstairs. The dance clue triggers only if you talk to Wen Zixuan properly and pick the option that has you join the performance.

Along the way, it’s worth talking to other patrons for Anecdotes and collectibles, but only the interactions listed above contribute to the seven main clues for Shadows in Bloom.

Step 4 – Sneak into the locked chamber and complete the deduction

Once all seven Revelry Hall clues are marked complete, a disturbance breaks out on the third floor. A servant will block the entrance to a private room and refuse to let you through. To proceed, use the environment:

• Step outside onto the third-floor veranda.
• Go around the corner of the building.
• Crouch and slip in through the side opening into the guarded room.

Inside, interact with every highlighted object to assemble the final set of scene clues:

• Five Minerals Powder scattered on the floor
• Unfinished Wine and wine cups
• The Unconscious Person on the bed or floor
• The Fallen Pipa, indicating a recent performance

With all objects examined, open the deduction interface and set the reasoning choices as follows:

Then, select the conclusion The Jiangnan envoy has gone to Nimbus Tower and submit the deduction. This pins down the envoy’s destination and unlocks the next objective.

Step 5 – Go to Nimbus Tower and destroy the Yin-Inscribed Booklet

With the envoy’s trail pointing to Nimbus Tower, leave Revelry Hall and head north to the tower’s location on the Kaifeng map. You can exit via a window into the water and then use a nearby fast travel point if you have it unlocked, or simply run across the city.

Enter Nimbus Tower and climb to the highest accessible floor. A cutscene leads directly into a fight with an unnamed attacker.

Repel the attacker

This duel is the only combat encounter in Shadows in Bloom and is not especially demanding. Use your usual martial arts combos and defensive tools to cut through the opponent. Once they fall, the room becomes safe to explore.

Find and burn the Yin-Inscribed Booklet

Now search the room thoroughly. Objects of interest include:

• A Letter
• Floral Paper with romantic verses
• Five Minerals Powder and Wine again, reinforcing the poisoning motif
• The scorched-tailed guqin with burn marks at the tail

The Yin-Inscribed Booklet itself sits in or on a low table or shelf near the veranda, marked clearly by a glow. Interact with it to obtain the booklet.

Immediately turn to the nearby brazier or fire source and choose the option to incinerate the Yin-Inscribed Booklet in flames. This safeguards the Faceless Ones and Aunt Han, but the smoke and knockout incense leave your character disoriented, leading into another cutscene.

Step 6 – Speak with Qin Ruolan and finish the quest

After blacking out, you wake in a private reception area in Nimbus Tower, face to face with Qin Ruolan, the master of Nimbus Tower and the composer of “Deep Longing.” She explains her side of the events: the Jiangnan envoy’s obsession, the gift of the legendary Scorch Tail guqin, and the unintended consequences of overusing Five Minerals Powder and knockout incense.

During this conversation, you can ask multiple questions about the envoy, Velvet Shade, and her involvement. To advance, run through the dialogue options and then choose the line that indicates you now understand the situation.

Ruolan takes responsibility for her role in the envoy’s fate but also pledges to protect you and Velvet Shade’s people as far as she can. In recognition of your help, she grants you permanent honored-guest status at the Heroic Assembly and invites you to return.

For the final objective, accompany Qin Ruolan to a lakeside spot to watch the fireworks display she helped plan. Once the fireworks scene ends, Shadows in Bloom is complete.

Shadows in Bloom quest rewards

Clearing Shadows in Bloom grants a mix of progression currency, materials, and an important Inner Way boost tied to the Vernal Umbrella.

The Inner Way reward is the standout: Blossom Barrage directly powers up Vernal Umbrella play, which makes this quest especially valuable for umbrella-focused builds.

Handled with a clear plan, Shadows in Bloom shifts from a frustrating scavenger hunt into a tightly plotted evening in Kaifeng: you fake it as a prodigy, bluff your way through music and poetry, quietly solve a poisoning, and walk away with a stronger Vernal Umbrella and a standing invitation to the most exclusive hall in the city.