Location: Gusu City
Prerequisite: Complete Koi in Jinli Village
Petitioner: None
Reward: Baidi Whirling Swordplay - Agile

In order to trigger this side quest you'll need to complete all of Shangguan Hong's recruitment quest, as well as recruit Sima Ling. Take the two women two Jinli Village for a quick side quest, then boost Sima Ling's Affinity for Yi. She likes instruments, accessories, and ingredients, particularly fish. The quest triggers once you reach 80 Affinity with Ling.

Make sure Ling and Hong are both in the party, then head to Gusu City, in the southeast of the map. (You'll have to trave back north and then head east past Wild Boar Woods to reach the city if you're coming directly from Jinli Village.) Attempt to spend the night at Gusu's inn to kick off several cut scenes, which lead to a battle.


Leader

The head of the pirates who are up to no good is a powerful fighter, though if you've been loading Ling down with Cultivation Methods and boosting her stats she should be up to the challenge - and that's good, because she's fighting solo. The Leader uses line-based sword attacks, so you'll want to get right in his face and slip behind him to attack his sides and back. Nothing special here, just keep Ling's health up.

After the solo battle the Leader will call up his two Pirates, and Yi and Hong will jump in to assist Ling. The Leader's attacks now make a difference, so let's list them out:
  • Normal line-based sword strikes
  • A line-based attack that goes out in four directions
  • Immortals' Unforgiving Sword, a line-based attack that spreads out diagonally
Your first priority here should be healing Ling, as she still has the damage from the previous battle. Either use Healthcare Method on her a few times or just have her Compose for a few rounds. Otherwise, wade in and take out the Leader as quickly as you can. Immortals' Unforgiving Sword has trouble targeting your characters if they stay at a range, so it's to your advantage to get in close for most of the fight. The other two Pirates barely stand a chance once the Leader is gone.


You'll probably receive some solid items for winning this fight. (I got the Longyuan Sword Advanced Blueprint, the Turtle Spirit Saber Advanced Blueprint, the Taihua Twelve Swordplays manual, and the Immortals' Unforgiving Sword manual, as well as some lesser pieces of equipment.) The quest ends here, seemingly without any more rewards...

... though if you check Sima Ling's moves, you'll see that she's learned a new Unique Move: Baidi Whirling Swordplay - Agile.