Springtime Charms/Story
Last updated 2026-05-14
Springtime Charms is an Event Chapter.
Requirements: Reach Adventure Rank 20 and complete Archon Quest Prologue: Act III - Song of the Dragon and Freedom.
Recommended Quests:
- Complete Archon Quest Chapter V: Act V - Incandescent Ode of Resurrection
- Complete Baizhu's Story Quest, Lagenaria Chapter: Act I - The Heart of Healing
- Complete Hu Tao's Story Quest, Papilio Charontis Chapter: Act I - Yet the Butterfly Flutters Away
Note: Though Baizhu's and Hu Tao's Story Quests are recommended first, the fact that they cannot be given priority in the quest system and occur within Liyue Harbor means that the Springtime Charms quests will interfere with character appearances and will have to be advanced at times in order to continue with the Story Quests.
Swirling Butterflies
List of Acts
- First Stanza — Liyue Celebrates and Eight Adepts Face a Hidden Calamity
- Second Stanza — The Funeral Parlor Has No Master, Yujing Terrace Calls the Troops
- Third Stanza — Qimen Arts and the Rite of Homa, the Spirits are Calmed and Life Restored
- Final Stanza: The Sanctification of Tao Dou
Summary
First Stanza — Liyue Celebrates and Eight Adepts Face a Hidden Calamity
As a new Lantern Rite comes around, the Traveler and Paimon decide to pay a visit to Liyue Harbor. They arrive at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, where they find Hu Tao and Xiangling. Hu Tao is wearing a new outfit that Xiangling had gifted her. The two suspect that Hu Tao is hiding something, but she simply claims that she's just swamped with work and promises to catch up with them. They walk down to the harbor, running into Keqing and a young woman from Chenyu Vale, who introduces herself as Lan Yan. Lan Yan is pleased to meet the trio, having heard of them. They talk about the legend of Tao Dou, a tree god during the Archon War. Ganyu then arrives and informs Keqing of a new development from Ningguang, and the two take their leave. Lan Yan accompanies the Traveler and Xiangling back to the funeral parlor.
Earlier, Hu Tao had been talking to An Su, a butler for the Feiyun Commerce Guild about funeral arrangements. As Hu Tao leaves, she asks the Ferrylady to follow up on the arrangements. The three then arrive and ask the Ferrylady about Hu Tao, who told them that she had just left. Xiangling offers to make the meal in advance, and as they leave, An Su asks the Ferrylady if she recognized Lan Yan. She does not, but is aware that her attire matched that from Chenyu Vale. An Su then realizes that he had seen her with Master, who gave him a rattan figure. While cleaning up the patriarch's room, he discovered the same figure and believes that she might have cursed him.
Arriving at Wanmin Restaurant, Xiangling discovers her father at Ying'er's store, where they discover a weakened Timaeus. Lan Yan stays behind to help watch the store, while the others rush him to Bubu Pharmacy, where they run into Xingqiu and Chongyun, who reveals that his great-grandfather fell into a coma recently. The guild had hired several doctors to examine him, but could not find a cause and left without giving any prescriptions. Fearing a curse, An Su asked Xingqiu to bring an exorcist, which he did with Chongyun. Chongyun inspected the room; while he felt a cold presence, he did not sense any signs of malevolence. Instead, he believes that a fetor of death is nearby.
Baizhu returns with Timaeus, who prescribed him a soup to consume for the next few days. As he and Ying'er leave, Baizhu reveals that the situation is more complex than he thought; both Xingqiu's great-grandfather and Timaeus were afflicted with the same malady. He suspects that everyones' visit to Qingce Village might have something to do with the problem, and he had sent Qiqi to gather herbs in the area. Returning to Ying'er's store, Lan Yan only realizes that she had narrowly missed Hu Tao and rushes after her, leaving one of her rattan dolls by accident.
The Traveler and Paimon return to the parlor, where the Ferrylady does not have any updates on Hu Tao's whereabouts. She does direct them to Zhongli at the Heyu Tea House, where they find him and Tea Master Liu Su watching Yun Jin's opera. As she finishes, they ask Zhongli about the rattan doll. Liu Siu becomes paranoid at the sight of the doll, as rumors were swirling that one of these dolls cursed the patriarch of the Feiyun Guild. Zhongli reassures him, pointing out a Guyan Sigil on the doll which was an upstanding and auspicious sign. Before they leave, Zhongli gifts them a Rex Lapis fortune coin, surprising Liu Siu, though he insists that it is just a replica he bought from a vendor.
Second Stanza — The Funeral Parlor Has No Master, Yujing Terrace Calls the Troops
Two days later, the Traveler and Paimon return to the funeral parlor, but the Ferrylady informs them that she had not returned yet. Wondering what was taking up her time, Gaming appears and greets them. He was there to help deliver funeral goods to the Feiyun home in Yilong Wharf, as they were preparing should the worse happen, while also hoping to spend time with his father afterwards. The Traveler and Paimon are about to head to Bubu Pharmacy when they run into Baizhu, learning that Qiqi had not returned from her herb-picking assignment. He tells them that he had received two more patients with symptoms similar to Timaeus and the Feiyun patriarch before sending them to Wuwang Hill to look for Qiqi.
When they arrive at the abandoned village, they run into some hilichurls and kill them. As they investigate, they discover a rattan doll and later Yelan, who warns them not to proceed further into the forest. She had also discovered Qiqi's herb basket, but takes them to Yiyan Temple to speak with Ningguang. There, they find her finishing up a conversation with Beidou. Ningguang reveals that they had received news about seniors becoming sick and later Hu Tao's analysis. She was supposed to meet with her yesterday, but failed to return, and Yelan suspects that she, Lan Yan and Qiqi were stuck in the border between life and death. As the two leave, Ningguang informs Yelan that she is to handle the Gate of Injury in The Chasm. From what little she knows about it, Yelan asks about the ritual involving obfuscating one of the people involved, and Ningguang admits that particular detail troubles her as well.
Making their way to Wangshu Inn, the Traveler and Paimon meet up with Xiao, who is surprised to see them instead of Yelan. He tells them to call her back, not wanting them to get involved, but they insist on helping and he relents. They return to Wuwang Hill, where Xiao senses and destroys the fetor, soon pinpointing the location of the border. He temporarily bestows them with his powers of perception and tells them to call him once they find the trio. Inside, the Traveler and Paimon fight more hilichurls and break through Lan Yan's protective illusion. Hu Tao spooks Qiqi in order to keep her awake, as she had taken a lot of fetor. The Traveler then calls Xiao and the group temporarily fends off hilichurls that try to breach the portal, and Xiao extracts them. He volunteers to take Qiqi back to Bubu Pharmacy for treatment right away while the others report to Ningguang.
Hu Tao informs Ningguang that the situation was far worse than expected. The Traveler asks if the Abyss was responsible for the damage, but she did not sense its presence. Hu Tao then asks Ningguang about the gates, and she tells her that they had located four of them and the rest would be discovered soon. Paimon then realizes that they were going to conduct the Santification of Tao Dou in order to purge the fetor. As she explains the ritual to Paimon, she becomes horrified upon learning that someone would have to die to finish the ritual. Hu Tao assures her that no one would die, as they were performing a scaled down version of the original ritual. Suddenly, Ningguang asks Hu Tao if the situation was related to the incident in Wuwang Hill ten years ago, which she suspiciously denies.
After they leave, Lan Yan tells the Traveler how her grandfather's fortune-telling had been affected by the fetor, for which the solution was pointed to the funeral parlor. Having learned some helpful tricks about the Qimen arts from a cousin in the main family branch, Yan posted a letter to her asking if the obfuscating part of the Seven-and-Eight-Gates Method was really necessary. She also believes Hu Tao was hiding the truth about Wuwang Hill's past and suggests the Traveler go ask her, as she had only just met her. They head to the parlor, where she shows them a picture of her father and grandfather. She also confirms that the current fetor incident was related to the incident in Wuwang Hill. Her father and grandfather were sent to dispel the fetor, but her father slipped at the most critical moment and was killed by the fetor, while the surrounding land was severely damaged. Her grandfather was able to contain it, but died before the age of sixty despite being healthy beforehand. She rants about her father, claiming that he was an unworthy director due to his inability to let go and that she does so because he was her father.
Third Stanza — Qimen Arts and the Rite of Homa, the Spirits are Calmed and Life Restored
Another two days pass and the Traveler and Paimon return to Yujing Terrace, where they learn from Ningguang that more people are getting sick, and Lan Yan received her cousin's reply, which added that people in Yilong Wharf are also getting affected as well. The plan was to initiate the festival while activating the gates, of which they had discovered the last four; the Gate of Terrain at Dihua Marsh, the Gate of Repose in Qincge Village, the Gate of Initiation at Liyue Harbor, and the Gate of Death in Wuwang Hill. Xiao, Baizhu, Qiqi, Ningguang and Lan Yan would cover these gates, while Hu Tao would tackle the Gate of Death herself. The Traveler offers to assist, but all the gates were taken. Ningguang notes that she and Lan Yan do have something that the Traveler could help with later, but in the meantime, Hu Tao asks them to tag along with her to pass some fortune coins to her other friends.
After giving the coins to her friends, they return to the parlor, where Hu Tao changes to her regular outfit as the business with the array is work-related. The Traveler gifts her the Rex coin for safety, and as they leave, Hu Tao remarks that it was good to spend some time with her friends. Zhongli arrives and after a short conversation, she asks him to bring the coin back to the Traveler, wanting to ensure they would remain safe in their travels. She tells him that if she fails to return from the ritual, he would be the 78th Director of the parlor. Zhongli humbly denies the offer, stating that she has much more to achieve.
Returning to Ningguang and Lan Yan, Yan relates that her cousin couldn't find a definitive answer after extensive research, but did suspect that the obfuscation requirement may be "a rule laid down by the mountains and the land"—meaning that it was mandatory, and they can not violate the laws of the Ley Lines. As Hu Tao was performing the ritual, she would be the target. However, Yan's cousin came up with an alternative that could possibly save her. Nearly all that know the full truth about the fetor are carrying a rattan figure of Hu Tao that were connected by Lan Yan to the ley lines, in the hope that the massive fetor blast meant for Hu Tao will instead be spread out to all those with a rattan figure. Ningguang cautions that this comes with the caveat that sharing the damage could still be very dangerous, but the Traveler gladly accepts a figure before Ningguang can finish her request. However, when Lan Yan tries to connect the Traveler to the Ley Lines they react as if the Traveler doesn't exist. The Traveler suspects that from their past experiences (like in Sumeru and Natlan), she is unable to due to the Ley Lines not recognizing them, much to her and Ningguang's surprise. The Traveler and Ningguang are disappointed that they are unable to give any more assistance with helping Hu Tao, and she hopes those they have connected already will be enough. As the Traveler heads down to the dock for the lantern display, they run into Zhongli and ask if he could help connect them to the gates. He tells them he cannot due to the Traveler's unique nature and returns the coin to them, explaining Hu Tao's decision. While they do not want Hu Tao to die, Zhongli states that the rules had to be followed. However, he also points out an unknown implication due to the Traveler's inability to connect to the Ley Lines.
As the ritual proceeds, the rattan figures are quickly overwhelmed by fetor but Hu Tao completes it herself, having anticipated the possibility of her death. Back in Liyue Harbor, her doll becomes darkened, much to Paimon's horror. However, she discovers the Traveler had gone missing, and Zhongli states that he had sent them on their way after their breakthrough.
The Traveler returns to Wuwang Hill to find Hu Tao, having realized that their lack of connection to the Ley Lines meant they could not be obfuscated and, thus, safely replace her as the individual in the ritual. Their working Hu Tao figure, as it had not been connected, is able to interact with the fetor and leads them to the Gate of Death. Meanwhile, in the border, Hu Tao arrives at a representation of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor where her father and grandfather greet her, but they do not take her with them, stating that her time had not yet come. As a plum branch falls into her hand, she soon discovers the Traveler had broken through with a portal and pulls her out of the border, absorbing all the fetor from her.
The Traveler wakes up in Bubu Pharmacy two days later, where Paimon greets them. She explains that they had fallen unconscious and a worried Hu Tao had brought them back to the harbor on her back, but Zhongli gave his assurance that they'd be alright. Baizhu had diagnosed them with only being exhausted, and many of their friends in Liyue had come to visit them, except for Hu Tao staying nearby the whole time. Outside, Hu Tao lightly scolds them for taking such a risk but is deeply grateful that she can live on, and thanks them for saving her life.
Final Stanza: The Sanctification of Tao Dou
With the fetor situation contained, the Traveler and Paimon look for Xiangling, and they head to Yilong Wharf to meet up with the rest of their friends. Yun Jin performs the Santification of Tao Dou for her friends who could not attend, gaining the applause of the audience.
At Wangshu Inn, Xiao and Yelan converse about the recent events. Xiao insists she should have taken the assignment. While Yelan knows that he was worried about the Traveler's safety, she points out that Ningguang had assigned her to the gate at the Chasm, and besides that, there was not much more she could have done (as she doesn't have the Traveler's unique abilities) and would have only been a liability if something went wrong. She then orders some Dew-Dipped Shrimp for herself and Almond Tofu for him.
At Yiyan Temple, Beidou and Ningguang engage in a short conversation about the incident. Ningguang is worried that a greater power might be at play, as she did not know what caused the fetor to grow out of control and that Natlan had suffered a similar experience recently.
At Yuehai Pavilion, Keqing reveals to Ganyu that Xianyun and the other adepti were most likely the ones who anonymously left the information the Qixing needed about the situation.
Finally, at Mt. Aocang, Cloud Retainer, Zhongli and the other adepti gather for tea, talking about Hu Tao.
World Quests
- Custom Gift Envelope No. 1
- Custom Gift Envelope No. 2
- Custom Gift Envelope No. 3
- Custom Gift Envelope No. 4
- Custom Gift Envelope No. 5
- Custom Gift Envelope No. 6
- Custom Gift Envelope No. 7
- Drills by Lamplight
Character Appearances
Playable Characters
The following playable characters appear in this event in Event Story Quests, Event World Quests, or in the open world. The prerequisite(s) shown in the prerequisite column need to be completed for characters to appear in the open world.
| Character | First Stanza | Second Stanza | Third Stanza | Final Stanza | Open World | Open World Prerequisite |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baizhu | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ | ||
| Beidou | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| Chiori | ✘ | ✘ | ✱ | ✘ | ✔ | Final Stanza |
| Chongyun | ✔ | ✘ | ✱ | ✔ | ||
| Gaming | ✘ | ✔ | ✘ | ✔ | ||
| Ganyu | ✔ | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| Hu Tao | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| Keqing | ✔ | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| Lan Yan | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| Ningguang | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| Qiqi | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ | ||
| Shenhe | ✘ | ✘ | ✱ | ✘ | ||
| Xiangling | ✔ | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| Xianyun | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ | ||
| Xiao | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| Xingqiu | ✔ | ✘ | ✱ | ✔ | ||
| Xinyan | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ | ✘ | ||
| Yanfei | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ | ✘ | ||
| Yaoyao | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ | ✘ | ||
| Yelan | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| Yun Jin | ✔ | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| Zhongli | ✔ | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ |
✱ — Appears in cinematic only
Characters
48 Characters appear in this Chapter:
- An Su
- Baiwen
- Baizhu
- Beidou
- Candace
- Changsheng
- Chef Mao
- Chevreuse
- Chongyun
- Dehya
- Ferrylady
- Gaming
- Ganyu
- Guoba
- Hu Tao
- Hu Tao's Father
- Jiewu
- Keqing
- Kujou Sara
- Lan Yan
- Little Fei
- Little Lulu
- Little Meng
- Lixing
- Madame Ping
- Mika
- Minglan
- Moon Carver
- Mountain Shaper
- Ningguang
- Noelle
- Old Hu
- Paimon
- Qiqi
- Tea Master Liu Su
- Timaeus
- Traveler
- Xiangling
- Xianyun
- Xiao
- Xingqiu
- Xinyan
- Yanfei
- Yaoyao
- Yelan
- Ying'er
- Yun Jin
- Zhongli
Total Rewards
120 Primogem
130,000 Mora
12 Hero's Wit
