Phantom Blade Zero The Journey Home - Old Man Gen Quest

How do you start and advance The Journey Home?

Talk to Old Man Gen at his Village of Lu hideout, then revisit after opening the route toward Pangzhen. Ask about the new request and check the objective before leaving. The initial conversation alone is not a departure check, and later city access does not establish that his tale is safe.

Stop	What to check	Why it matters
Old Man Gen’s Hideout	Initial conversation	Starts the tale
Route toward Pangzhen opened	Return for his next request	Avoids leaving with only the early objective
Pangzhen investigation	Visit the requested home and inspect inside	Provides the result to report
Village return	Speak with Gen again	Confirms the conclusion

Where does the investigation lead after Pangzhen opens?

The trophy roadmap directs the investigation from the Pond of Fading Song area toward a branch-blocked path leading to Gen’s house. It describes entering the house, inspecting the body inside, and reporting back. Follow the current objective and landmarks together; this draft does not supply an independently verified turn-by-turn map.

1. Revisit Gen and accept the request before committing to the city route.
2. Locate the path near the relevant pond landmark and clear the burnable obstruction.
3. Find the house and inspect its interior objective.
4. Return to Gen rather than assuming the investigation finishes automatically.

The written landmark is Pond of Fading Song; the target is Old Man Gen’s House in the backstreets. No original route screenshots are supplied. Use the exploration guide to keep a return marker.

How do you distinguish completion from a later reward visit?

Use the journal conclusion and final conversation to establish that this tale is complete. A later appearance or reward associated with the same character should be tracked separately. Otherwise, a player may mistake a missing follow-up encounter for an unfinished initial conversation, or assume a future visit can repair an earlier omission.

What if Gen is absent or the request never changes?

Compare the log with the village revisit step and load an earlier save if necessary. This draft has no verified respawn trigger, reset command, or same-save repair; do not invent one from a different NPC’s behavior.

The tale is associated with Together Till the End. Before entering Pangzhen, return to Gen to report the opened route and accept the house request. The comb itself is collected in Pangzhen and delivered afterward. Treat the later War Wagon visit as a follow-up, and consult the story-gate checklist.

Which choices and item confirm the safe return route?

Agree to Gen’s request when revisiting him, then confirm the Brass Key and updated house objective before entering the backstreet. Choose the accepted-request route rather than relying on a refusal branch. Check inventory and journal together: a friendly conversation alone does not establish that the route has advanced correctly.

Action	Evidence of progress
Accept both request prompts	Brass Key and a house-search objective
Open the yellow-lantern house	Inspect his wife and collect Dusty Old Wooden Comb
Return to the Village of Lu gate	Deliver the comb to Gen
Later follow-up	War Wagon, a memory flower, and Old Wooden Comb are reported rewards

Do not confuse the Dusty Old Wooden Comb quest pickup with the later Old Wooden Comb tempering material. Accept both request prompts and confirm the Brass Key. A route record reports failure if you reach the Pangzhen backstreet while this tale is still on its opening step; protect the village report with an earlier save rather than assuming a later visit repairs it.

Which two conversations must happen before the house search?

First accept the tale, then return after the passage opens and accept Gen’s request again. These are two dialogue checkpoints, followed by the Brass Key and the updated house objective. The recorded failure condition concerns entering the backstreet while still on the initial step, not entering the house after a correctly advanced request.

Checkpoint	Item or state to confirm
Both request prompts accepted	Old Man Gen’s Brass Key
House searched	Dusty Old Wooden Comb
Comb delivered	Tale conclusion and Together Till the End
Later follow-up	War Wagon and memory-related rewards, tracked separately