Cui Quest Walkthrough: Grandfather Lu Sanqian, Rootless Dew & the Red Ribbon

A Three-Region Family Tragedy

Cui’s quest (Tale #16 on the All Tales index) is the most far-flung side story in Phantom Blade Zero. It opens in the Village of Lu, spends its middle act in the optional Mountain of Imprisonment, and concludes in the endgame region of Mount Soulrend. What begins as a little girl’s request to find her grandfather becomes a relay of rescues, each one ending worse than the last, and it pays out two valuable rewards: the Crude Radiant Heart support accessory and the Baishan Headband weapon tempering material. Both are easy to miss if you rush the Mountain of Imprisonment or start the Mount Soulrend boss fights out of order.

How to Start: The Puppet Testing Grounds

Progress the Village of Lu until you defeat Yuzan, No. 3 Musician Puppet in the boss arena at the bottom of the well. Instead of leaving, climb the raised platforms overlooking the arena and look for a small wooden room strung with red threads, candles, and puppet parts. Inside sits Cui, a child puppet crying for her family.

Her parents joined the Mandate, and her grandfather — Lu Sanqian, the former village chief — disappeared into the mountains. Cui hands you Cui’s Red Ribbon, a keepsake tied to all three family members, and asks Soul to find him. Accepting the ribbon starts the Tale and logs the objective to find her grandfather.

Rescue One: Iron Butcher’s Camp and the Mountain Gate

Lu Sanqian waits in the Mountain of Imprisonment, a missable region you reach only by completing the Illusory Pipa repair quest and playing the instrument at the Weeping Mistgate northeast of Meigu Lake. The full regional route is covered in the Mountain of Imprisonment walkthrough.

Follow the main path past the Iron Butcher’s Camp Bell and you will find a cage guarded by enemies. Defeat them and pull the lever to free the old man. He introduces himself as Lu Sanqian and explains the Mountain Gate ahead is locked from the opposite side — he needs you to open it.

You cannot open the gate from his position. Continue through the caverns: you will pass the Cavern Passage Bell, defeat Bi Feng, the Giant Saber Commander, and emerge toward Commander’s Platform. Two things to do here before moving on:

1. Collect Rootless Dew. It sits on the rocks beyond the large red gazebo near the cliff edge, on the route between the cavern exit and the Commander’s Platform Bell. This item is mandatory later — skipping it stalls the questline.
2. Open the gate from behind. From the Commander’s Platform Bell, take the side path to the right to loop around to the locked gate, open it, and speak with Lu Sanqian again. He shuffles off toward the summit — and is promptly captured again.

Rescue Two: The Hanging Cage After Kui Yanyan

Continue to the Shrine Outer Gate Bell and descend into the arena below to fight Kui Yanyan, the Deranged. Her frenzied club assault is covered in the Kui Yanyan boss guide, but the short version: stay aggressive, interrupt her swings, and do not let her reset.

After she falls, take the ladder down from the arena into a large chamber of cages suspended overhead. If you completed the first rescue, you will hear Lu Sanqian calling from one of them. Push deeper and defeat the pair of enemies fighting each other at the end of the path — they drop the Shrine Gate Key, which gates the final stretch of the region.

Climb the tall ladder and work the cage mechanisms. Three cages can be lowered with the levers; a fourth needs a separate key item unrelated to Cui’s quest. Drop Lu Sanqian’s cage and speak with him. He is dying of thirst — this is where the Rootless Dew comes in. Hand it over and he drags himself onward toward the Lady’s Shrine.

The Last Meeting: Crude Radiant Heart

Return to the Shrine Outer Gate and use the Shrine Gate Key on the locked door that leads toward the Lady’s Shrine. The path from here is nearly linear, and shortly before the final boss approach you will find Lu Sanqian crawling along the ground, still trying to reach the shrine on his own.

Speak with him one final time. He returns Cui’s Red Ribbon, entrusts you with his last letter to his son, and dies having done his duty. You receive the Crude Radiant Heart accessory (Support type): any sha-chi attack that hits an enemy builds temporary Remnant Spark, and Martial-type Phantom Edges consume that temporary Spark first — a natural fit for Phantom Edge-heavy builds. GameSpot’s accessory guide confirms this is the reward point for the whole chain.

Mount Soulrend: The Parents and the Baishan Headband

The quest now lies dormant until you progress through Mirage Estate and reach Mount Soulrend, the final region. The full route is mapped in the Mount Soulrend walkthrough.

From The Last Mandate Encampment Bell, head west into a wooden fenced area. A man sits beside a woman resting on a box — Cui’s parents. Deliver the Red Ribbon and Lu Sanqian’s last letter. The conversation confirms the worst: Cui’s mother dies on the spot, and the next scene shows Soul and her father standing at her grave.

One encounter remains. Continue to The Giant’s Lair and start the fight against The Crusher and the Saw. During the intro cutscene, Cui’s father Lu Jieyuan tries to help Soul and is fatally wounded. Defeat the duo, then speak to the dying man before leaving the area: he hands over the Baishan Headband, a weapon tempering material tracked in the Soul Temper materials guide. That closes the family story.

Missable Windows Checklist

• Collect Rootless Dew during the Mountain of Imprisonment section; Lu Sanqian cannot advance without it.
• Deliver the ribbon and letter to Cui’s parents before starting The Crusher and the Saw fight. The father’s death is part of that boss sequence, and the Baishan Headband comes from him afterward.
• The Last Chance Bell in Mount Soulrend is the game’s final point of no return — finish everything else first, as flagged in the missable side quests guide.

Rewards

• Crude Radiant Heart — Support accessory; sha-chi hits build temporary Remnant Spark for Martial-type Phantom Edges.
• Baishan Headband — weapon tempering material for Soul Tempering.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Cui’s quest missable? The steps themselves stay available until the finale, but two soft-gates matter: you must collect Rootless Dew to advance Lu Sanqian past the hanging cage, and you must speak to Cui’s father after The Crusher and the Saw fight to receive the Baishan Headband. The broader missable list is on the All Tales index.

Do I need the Illusory Pipa for Cui’s quest? Yes. The Mountain of Imprisonment only opens after you repair the Illusory Pipa and dispel the Weeping Mistgate, so Cui’s quest effectively gates behind the Illusory Pipa parts hunt.

What does the Baishan Headband do? It is a Weapon Tempering Material rather than an equippable accessory. Bring it to Myst’s Soul Tempering station with the weapon you want to upgrade; see the Soul Tempering guide for how the system works.

Source: community-verified launch coverage from GameSpot (All Accessory Locations), GameRant (Cui’s Questline Walkthrough), ShowGamer (Cui Grandfather & Parents Locations), KeenGamer (All 33 Tales), and Maxroll (Mountain of Imprisonment Walkthrough), October-November 2026.