The Journey Home Walkthrough: Together Till the End Trophy

What Is The Journey Home?

The Journey Home is a two-region tale that starts with a conversation in the Village of Lu and ends with a keepsake in Pangzhen’s backstreets — and it exists on every completionist’s watchlist for one reason: its cutoff is the cruelest in Phantom Blade Zero. The main story funnels you straight from the Smuggler’s Tunnel into Pangzhen, and a single skipped report fails the quest silently, locking the Together Till the End Bronze trophy until New Game Plus.

The tale is also the emotional counterweight to the region: while the Village of Lu’s other quests chase puppets and ruins, this one is just an old man asking whether the road home is clear — and what he is really asking is whether it is safe to hope his wife is still waiting at the end of it. Our missable side quests checklist ranks it alongside Young Master Lan as the pair most blind playthroughs lose, and the all Tales index logs its trigger and reward.

Step 1: Speak to Old Man Gen

Location: Village of Lu — Old Man Gen’s Hideout bell.

At the start of the Village of Lu, find Old Man Gen near his hideout and talk to him. The tale accepts immediately — no fetch step, no bell puzzle. He tells you about the passage beneath the village and waits while you clear it.

Step 2: Open the Smuggler’s Tunnel

Push the Village of Lu’s main route until you open the Smuggler’s Tunnel beneath the village. This happens naturally as the story advances through the region — the tunnel is the road onward, which is exactly what makes the next step so easy to skip.

Step 3: The Missable Report — Before Pangzhen

This is the cutoff. The moment the tunnel opens, the game expects you to leave for Pangzhen — and if you do, the tale fails before its second act ever starts. Instead, backtrack to Old Man Gen first and tell him the passage is clear. That single conversation banks the tale; now, and only now, is it safe to cross into Pangzhen.

Trophy guides are blunt about this one: PowerPyx lists Together Till the End among the seven missable trophies, and keengamer’s walkthrough phrases the deadline as report back after opening the tunnel, before entering Pangzhen. There is no in-game warning. If your Journal marks the quest red after reaching Pangzhen, only a reload or NG+ brings it back. Keep the sequencing next to the trophy guide’s platinum route until the hand-off is done.

Step 4: Old Man Gen’s House in Pangzhen

Once in Pangzhen, the tale resumes. The city is large, so use the bells to hop between districts rather than running the full distance on foot:

1. Obtain the Flaming Mane Phantom Edge.
2. From the Pond of Fading Song, take the path toward the slums and burn the branches blocking the way with the Flaming Mane.
3. Follow the cleared route to Old Man Gen’s House in the backstreets. Unlock the door, go inside, and examine the body within.
4. Take the Dusty Old Wooden Comb from the scene — the answer to where his wife went.

Step 5: Deliver the Comb

Return to the Village of Lu gate — yes, the tale sends you back across regions one last time — and give Old Man Gen the comb. He recognizes it instantly: it is his wife’s. The tale completes, the old man finally has his answer, and the Together Till the End trophy unlocks. It is a deliberately quiet payoff for a quest whose real challenge was never combat — it was remembering to turn around.

Why This Trophy Dies So Often

Every other missable in Phantom Blade Zero announces itself through a boss or a point of no return. The Journey Home fails on a hallway: the Smuggler’s Tunnel exits practically onto Pangzhen’s threshold, the main objective points forward, and Old Man Gen never calls out to stop you. It is the one missable where the game design itself is the trap.

The defense is boring and effective: when the tunnel opens, do not follow the quest marker. Rest at the Village of Lu bell, walk back to the hideout, finish the report, and save — the game hands you twenty manual slots, and this is exactly what they are for. Thirty seconds of backtracking protects a trophy that otherwise costs an entire extra playthrough.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you finish The Journey Home entirely in the Village of Lu?

No. The tale deliberately spans two regions: the report happens in the Village of Lu, but the comb recovery is in Pangzhen’s backstreets and the final hand-off sends you back to the village gate. Budget the round trip.

What is the Flaming Mane used for in this quest?

It is the Phantom Edge that burns the branch barrier on the path from the Pond of Fading Song toward the slums. If you have not picked it up yet, clear the relevant fight first — the route to Old Man Gen’s house is blocked until the branches burn.

Does failing The Journey Home affect The Healer’s Legacy or the true ending?

No — those have their own quest clusters. Together Till the End is a standalone missable, but it counts toward the 36-trophy platinum, so a failed run leaves the list permanently short on that save.

Sources: keengamer.com (All 33 Tales and Side Quests walkthrough — entry 11), powerpyx.com (trophy guide — missable list), thephantombladezero.wiki (missable quests checklist) — launch guides, October–November 2026.