Side Quest — “Carved Balustrade, Sword’s Shadow” (雕栏剑影) + Follow-up Encounter “Snowy Night Strategy” (雪夜定策)

Go to Jinshuimen Street (金水门街) and eavesdrop for news about the Canglang Sword Manual.

Break into Zhao Pu’s residence

Squeeze through a crack in the wall to enter Zhao Pu’s home and meet his eldest son, Zhao Chengzong.
Smash the stone pile to rescue Zhao Chengzong’s cricket.

When Steward Xu arrives, climb out via the pond, jump onto the rooftops, and follow them until you see Zhao Pu’s wife.

After speaking with Zhao Chengzong, continue moving across the rooftops to circle to the back (where there are no guards) and sneak inside to steal a key.

When Zhao Chengzong lures the guards away, enter the main room:

• You can find Zhao Pu’s love letter.
• There’s also hidden cash under the bed.

On the left side of the main hall, please retrieve the throwing darts from the cabinet and use them to activate the nearby mechanism, which will open the secret-room passage.

Underground secret room: darts + mechanisms

In the underground chamber, the main door won’t budge—work together with Zhao Chengzong to open it.
Search each compartment (every section has stairs leading up).

• Find a dart upstairs, then use it to activate a mechanism and open a hidden door.
• Have Zhao Chengzong hold a lever for you so you can slip through.
• After passing through, pull the mechanism to open the door so Zhao Chengzong can join you.

Deeper in, there’s a small central tower with three mechanisms—you need three darts:

• Two are on the left side.
• One is on the right side.

Left side: pull the switch to open the door; inside are a chest and a dart. Another dart is near the doorway you just opened.
Right side: open a cabinet to reveal a hole—let Zhao Chengzong crawl in to open the door for you, then take a dart from the straw dummy.

Use the three darts to trigger the three tower mechanisms and open the final chamber. The chest inside contains the Canglang Sword Art Inner Manual (沧浪剑诀心法).

Nearby, you can pick up another dart by a wanted notice, and you can also spot Zhaixing Hand’s (摘星手) night outfit.
There’s also a secret letter on the table—use a dart to open a side passage, and you’ll discover a letter Zhao Pu wrote to his wife, hinting that “A Cup of Wine Relinquishes Military Power” (杯酒释兵权) caused Zhao Pu real trouble. Exit through the newly opened passage.

Upstairs, speak with Zhao Pu’s wife to complete the quest (and you can chat more before leaving).

Follow-up Encounter — “Snowy Night Strategy” (雪夜定策)

After finishing the above, go to the Jinshuimen Street fast-travel point at night to trigger “Snowy Night Strategy.” If it doesn’t trigger, try again the next real-world day when you log back in.

Go upstairs to where you previously spoke with Zhao Pu’s wife and read the letter on the table—Steward Xu actually “reports” to her, claiming “Zhao Da” and “Zhao Er” are shady jianghu types.

You’ll then arrive at the famous historical scene where Zhao Kuangyin and Zhao Pu debate Song’s unification strategy: go north first, then south, or south first, then north. In this quest’s symbolism:

• Yanyun lamb represents the north
• Jiangnan fish represents the south

You go to buy ingredients, but can’t get the northern lamb—only the southern fish—so they decide to start with the south, then move on to the north. The adaptation is quite playful, primarily since it also incorporates the name “Zhao Er” into the scene.

The above content is compiled by ModeZone, a fashion and entertainment magazine.