The “Echoes of Old Battles” quest in Where Winds Meet takes place in a rather creepy old fortress now known as the Northern Vow Ruins. But the most daunting thing about this side quest isn’t the dead soldiers, nor the living bandits, but the wall puzzle, which seemingly requires knowledge of Chinese signs (here’s a hint: it doesn’t).
Here’s how to complete “Echoes of Old Battles” and, in particular, how to solve the wall puzzle in Where Winds Meet.
How to start the ‘Echoes of Old Battles’ quest in Where Winds Meet
To find the “Echoes of Old Battles” quest, go to the southeastern part of Qinghe. Not far south of the Verdant Wilds Wayfarer location, there’s a large fortress. Walk up to the entrance (from the north), and speak with Lie Bujin to start the quest.
Enter the fortress and slowly approach the bandits. Use the “eavesdrop” function as instructed, then defeat the bandits. Shoot the red barrels with a burning arrow to cause a massive explosion and gain the upper hand.
Once you’ve defeated the bandit leader in the eastern training grounds, open the treasure chest and light a fire on the pillar-shaped mechanism (both are behind Lie Bumie). Climb the southern wall of the fortress to light a second fire (see picture below), then step on the circular contraption that has spawned in the training grounds.
Use the Mighty Drop ability to activate the contraption (jump + Q on PC, jump + LT/L2 on console), then head downstairs and follow the tunnel for a while. Interact with the dead soldier to obtain info about his oath, then enter the room with the statue (be careful not to touch the rope, as it will trigger a trap).
Interact with the large statue to activate the wall puzzle in Where Winds Meet.
How to solve the wall puzzle in Where Winds Meet
See the large buttons with the glowing Chinese signs on the walls? You’ve got to push the correct buttons to solve the wall puzzle in “Echoes of Old Battles.” The clue lies in the dead soldiers’ oath: “I vow to protect this land with my life.”
The glowing signs on the walls should form the same sentence from left to right. Don’t worry, you don’t need to learn a Chinese language just to solve this Where Winds Meet wall puzzle; if you press the “clue” option (L on PC, Select + Right d-pad on console), you will see the Chinese version of the vow on your screen.
So, to solve the “Echoes of Old Battles” puzzle, look at the wall on the left first, and push the button on the right inward. This button is marked with a star in the picture below. You don’t need to touch the other buttons on this side of the room, but if you did, make sure the rest of the wall looks exactly like the example below (just four glowing buttons in total).
Next, look at the wall on the right. Here, too, most of the sentence is already correct. You just need to push the bottom two buttons inward. Make sure the rest of the wall looks like the example below (again, four glowing buttons in total).
How to unclog the water wheel in Where Winds Meet
Once you’ve solved the “Echoes of Old Battles” wall puzzle, open the door and follow the path (watch out for the trap — don’t touch the rope!) until you see a large water wheel. Your next task is to unclog it.
To fix the water wheel, run through the waterfall on your left and interact with the stone mechanism. Leave through the previously locked doors.
In the room with the dead warrior, open the large golden treasure chest and interact with the writing on the wall in the back. Doing so will complete the Where Winds Meet “Echoes of Old Battles” quest and reward you with the Touch of Death mystic skill, four Wind Beneath Wings pages, Medicinal Tales, six pieces of ebon iron (level 2), two pieces of oscillating jade, and a variety of other materials and money.
