The Vernal Umbrella (also referred to as the Ninefold Umbrella) in Where Winds Meet is locked behind a short but easy-to-miss sequence around Kaifeng’s Time Tower and its Temporal Pavilion. The twist: you cannot simply walk into the pavilion banquet, and the game expects you to use its deduction system to locate a keepsake hairpin before you are allowed inside to perform Skill Theft on the master.
How to start the Ninefold Umbrella quest
You do not unlock the Vernal Umbrella directly from your inventory; you trigger a linked quest chain around the Time Tower in Kaifeng.
| Step | Action | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Track the martial art from your menu | Open your martial arts menu, highlight Vernal Umbrella/Ninefold Umbrella, and track its martial arts talent quest. This points you toward the Time Tower area. |
| 2 | Travel to the Time Tower / Temporal Pavilion | Head to the Time Tower in Kaifeng. The pavilion nearby hosts a high‑status banquet you initially cannot join. |
| 3 | Trigger “Shadows in Bloom” | Arriving at the area grants a Lost Chapter called Shadows in Bloom. Progress in this chapter is required to access the banquet and the Vernal Umbrella theft. |
| 4 | Test the pavilion door | Try to enter the Temporal Pavilion. An invisible barrier ejects you and flags you for crashing an official banquet. This confirms you need a keepsake to get in legitimately. |
| 5 | Speak to Wang Ping’an | At the foot of the tower, talk to the disciple Wang Ping’an in the small hut. This moves the quest forward and sets up the keepsake investigation. |
At this point, you know two things: the banquet is blocked, and your way in is a keepsake connected to the Temporal Pavilion. You now have to work through the clue hunt around the tower.
Meet Jiang Ting’er and learn you need a keepsake
From Wang Ping’an’s hut, move toward the Time Tower itself.
| Action | Details |
|---|---|
| Climb the tower to find Jiang Ting’er | Ascend the tower to reach Jiang Ting’er. She acts as the gatekeeper for the banquet and refuses you entry without a keepsake from the Temporal Pavilion. |
| Accept the keepsake condition | The game now expects you to investigate the pavilion surroundings and collect a set of environmental clues that describe both the nature and the location of the keepsake. |
Jiang Ting’er will not help until you bring the correct item, so everything that follows is about proving where that item is and retrieving it.
How to collect all keepsake clues around the Temporal Pavilion
The keepsake puzzle revolves around eavesdropping and observation near the Temporal Pavilion. You need all clues before you can deduce the final hint.
| Step | Where to go | What to do / What the clue represents |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stairs and warehouse beside the pavilion | Walk down the stairs next to the pavilion and pass by the warehouse. Moving through this area automatically fulfills one warehouse‑related hint. |
| 2 | Behind the pavilion – tabby cat | Circle behind the pavilion to find a tabby cat. Interacting with it completes one of the poetic clues tied to where “roseleaf raspberries” bloom. |
| 3 | Riverside railing and chess window | From the cat’s spot, turn right and follow the railings toward the river. Look for a criss‑crossed window and peek in to see two people playing chess; this adds another clue. |
| 4 | Back side room of the pavilion | Go into the rear side room of the pavilion interior and crouch to eavesdrop on two gossiping women. Their dialogue forms part of the “guest refused” / “no keepsake, no seat” hint chain. |
| 5 | Second floor of the pavilion | Leave the pavilion, return to Wang Ping’an’s house, climb onto its roof, then triple‑jump across to the pavilion’s second floor balcony. Crouch and eavesdrop on another pair of gossiping women there for the final clue. |
Once you have all these, the deduction interface becomes available and you can turn raw hints into specific instructions.
How to open the deduction panel and “deduce the nature and location of the keepsake”
The game does not surface the deduction UI very clearly, which is why this step often stalls players. The clue text in your quest log tells you to deduce the keepsake’s nature and location; that’s a prompt to use the panel actions interface.
| Platform | Input | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| PlayStation | Press the touchpad, then press right on the D‑pad when the on‑screen hint for panel actions appears | Opens the special clue panel where you see all acquired hints and can start deduction. |
| Other platforms | Use the equivalent “panel actions” and “view clue” buttons shown in the top‑left UI | The labels differ by platform, but the flow is the same: open the panel, then choose to view and deduce clues. |
Inside the panel, you see individual poetic hints. A prompt in the lower‑right corner lets you “Start deduction”. The goal is to pair hints in the correct combinations to generate more concrete statements, eventually narrowing things down to one decisive line about the keepsake.
Correct hint combinations for the keepsake deduction
The puzzle plays out as a sequence of pairings. Each successful pairing collapses two vague hints into a more specific one. Continue pairing until you reach the final statement.
| First hint | Second hint | Resulting combined hint |
|---|---|---|
| The Wind arrives. Can Messenger be far behind? | A roseleaf raspberry blooms on petal‑strained invitation | Where roseleaf raspberries bloom, jade glows with immortal grace |
| Guest refused, hairpin returned | No keepsake, no seat at the noble feast | A white jade pin, flawless and sworn |
| Where roseleaf raspberries bloom, jade glows with immortal grace | A white jade pin, flawless and sworn | A jade pin still holds the morning dew |
| Jade keepsake behind the red gate | Golden latch guards the warehouse | The keepsake is behind the treasury’s door |
| The keepsake is behind the treasury’s door | A jade pin still holds the morning dew | Hairpin keepsake hidden in the second‑floor treasury |
When you submit the final combined clue, the game confirms both the nature of the keepsake (a hairpin made of white jade) and its location (a locked second‑floor treasury). You are then teleported directly to that treasury area to act on the discovery.
How to get the Warehouse Key and Bramble Rose Hairpin
The deduction sequence takes you to the treasury, but you still need a key for the warehouse that actually holds the hairpin.
| Step | Action | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Use Wildsense in the treasury area | Activate the Wildsense vision mode to reveal an interactable object that contains the Warehouse Key. |
| 2 | Pick up the Warehouse Key | Grab the key highlighted by Wildsense; this unlocks access to the warehouse you passed earlier by the stairs. |
| 3 | Open the warehouse | Return to the warehouse next to the pavilion stairs and use the key to open its door. |
| 4 | Take the Bramble Rose Hairpin | Inside the warehouse, loot the Bramble Rose Hairpin. This is the actual keepsake Jiang Ting’er demanded. |
| 5 | Deliver the hairpin to Jiang Ting’er | Go back up to Jiang Ting’er and hand over the Bramble Rose Hairpin. She now recognizes you as a proper guest and allows entry. |
With the hairpin delivered, the earlier invisible barrier is effectively removed. You can now access the banquet area inside the Temporal Pavilion without being thrown out.
Entering the Temporal Pavilion and stealing the Vernal Umbrella art
Once the keepsake is resolved, the Ninefold Umbrella objective shifts from investigation to execution: you need to perform Skill Theft on the pavilion’s master.
| Action | Details |
|---|---|
| Re‑enter the Temporal Pavilion | Walk back into the pavilion. With the Bramble Rose Hairpin delivered, the staff no longer eject you; the banquet is now accessible. |
| Locate the master in the Time Tower | Inside, proceed to the master associated with the Time Tower/Temporal Pavilion banquet. This is the target for Skill Theft. |
| Use Skill Theft | Engage the master with the Skill Theft mechanic and complete the mini‑game as prompted. Success rewards you with the Vernal Umbrella martial art. |
| Report back to Wang Ping’an | After acquiring the martial art, return to Wang Ping’an at the hut near the tower to formally complete the quest steps. |
After this sequence, the Vernal Umbrella is unlocked in your martial arts list and can be equipped and developed like your other combat styles.
Vernal Umbrella skills and talent unlocks
The Vernal Umbrella revolves around Blossom generation, airborne control, and ranged pressure. Its moveset includes light and heavy chains, a projectile martial skill, and a powerful special that lets the umbrella fight independently while you swap to another weapon.
| Category | Martial art / move | Function | Unlock requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Special Skill | Unfading Flower | Consumes 50+ Blossom to throw the umbrella into the air and draw a hidden sword. The umbrella hovers and automatically fires at a single target within range, spending Blossom every second. If the target is already airborne, it spends extra Blossom to boost projectiles and keep them suspended longer. Re‑activating recalls the umbrella. | Requires reaching the seventh node on Vernal Umbrella’s talent tree. |
| Martial Skill | Spring Sorrow | Brief charge that releases a flying petal projectile. On hit, it immobilizes non‑boss enemies for 3 seconds, enabling follow‑up combos or crowd control. | Usable as soon as the martial art is unlocked; no extra prerequisite. |
| Light – Charged | Spring Away | Charge, then open the umbrella to rise into the air while spinning. You become airborne and fire multiple projectiles that deal moderate damage and rapidly generate Blossom on hit. | Part of the light kit; charged and heavy options are enabled at the third talent node. |
| Light Chain | Umbrella – Light Attack | Up to three close‑ to mid‑range swings, forming the basic light combo. | Available immediately with the martial art. |
| Heavy – Charged | Apricot Heaven | Single‑stage charge that launches you into the air with an initial area hit, then allows either a normal downward area attack or a stronger enhanced version depending on charge time. | Unlocked when you reach the third talent tree node. |
| Heavy Variant | Colorful Phoenix | During recovery of the first or second heavy swing, tapping light attack triggers a combo dash: the umbrella opens and you surge forward, dealing multiple hits. | Also tied to heavy attack unlock via the third talent node. |
| Heavy Chain | Umbrella – Heavy Attack | Up to four heavier swings with greater impact and range than the light chain. | Becomes available once heavy attacks are enabled by the third node. |
| Conversion | Umbrella – Conversion | Weapon‑swap move that brings out the umbrella and swings it, dealing damage as you transition into the Vernal Umbrella stance. | Unlocked alongside heavy and charged skills at the third node. |
Talent investment shapes how much you get out of the kit. Early on, the third node is key—it unlocks the heavier and charged options that turn the umbrella from a simple ranged tool into a full aerial control style. The seventh node is where the build comes together, giving you Unfading Flower so you can deploy the umbrella as an autonomous turret while you fight with another weapon.
How to play Vernal Umbrella effectively
The Vernal Umbrella is built for controlling space rather than brute‑forcing single targets. It excels when you keep enemies juggled or at mid‑range and use Blossom as a resource you actively generate and spend.
| Focus | How to use Vernal Umbrella | Practical effect |
|---|---|---|
| Area damage | Lean on charged skills like Spring Away and Apricot Heaven in crowded fights. Their wide hitboxes and aerial coverage thin out mobs quickly. | Groups of enemies are damaged together, reducing pressure and giving you time to reposition or set up follow‑ups. |
| Airborne control | Launch lighter enemies into the air, then activate Unfading Flower. The umbrella spends Blossom to keep them suspended while you either continue with the hidden sword or swap weapons. | Small enemies stay juggled, often unable to retaliate while you and the hovering umbrella chip them down. |
| Crowd control | Use Spring Sorrow to immobilize a priority target for 3 seconds. Focus damage on that target or safely handle other enemies while it is locked in place. | Dangerous mobs are briefly neutralized, making it safer to commit to long animations or to clean up weaker foes. |
| Secondary weapon role | Treat Vernal Umbrella as a “set‑and‑forget” companion via Unfading Flower, then switch to a different martial art while the umbrella fires automatically. | You gain effective dual‑wield behavior: one weapon under your direct control and the umbrella acting as a persistent ranged attacker. |
Managing Blossom is central: skills like Spring Away generate it quickly, and Unfading Flower drains it at a steady rate. Staying aggressive and hitting multiple enemies keeps the resource cycling, so your umbrella can remain in the air longer.
Best weapon to pair with Vernal Umbrella: Inkwell Fan
Vernal Umbrella is particularly strong when paired with another ranged, launch‑focused martial art. Inkwell Fan fills that role cleanly.
| Weapon | Synergy point | Why it works with Vernal Umbrella |
|---|---|---|
| Inkwell Fan | Multi‑projectile pressure | The fan’s multiple projectiles layer well with the umbrella’s ranged hits, creating dense chip damage that pairs with shield or defensive tools like Jadewind Shield. |
| Inkwell Fan | Air launch capability | Inkwell Fan can launch enemies, which directly feeds into Unfading Flower’s bonus airborne effect: the umbrella spends extra Blossom to hit and extend juggle time on launched targets. |
| Both together | Ranged DPS playstyle | Used together, Vernal Umbrella and Inkwell Fan let you play largely at range, keeping smaller enemies in the air while projectiles do the heavy lifting. |
For anyone who prefers to avoid point‑blank trading, this pairing turns encounters into a controlled shooting gallery—launch with the fan, deploy Unfading Flower, then maintain distance while your projectiles keep the field locked down.
Once the deduction hurdle around the Bramble Rose Hairpin is cleared, the Vernal Umbrella settles into a clear identity: a Blossom‑driven aerial controller that rewards careful setup and weapon pairing. If you invest in its talent tree and learn to juggle enemies with Inkwell Fan or similar tools, it becomes one of the most flexible ranged‑DPS options in Where Winds Meet.
