What Waits in Shadow (Hard mode)

Objectives

 * Locate and defeat Reisen the Phoenix.
 * See Xan Hei for your reward.

Reward

 * 10,000 Experience
 * 5,000 Gold
 * 2 Ministerial Commendations

Walkthrough
Follow the map to reach Reisen the Phoenix, fighting through Jade Brotherhood groups on the way. Be careful: while each individal group of Jade Brotherhood is quite manageable, several of the groups patrol very near each other. Having a longbow or flatbow to pull groups is very helpful; however, even with careful pulling, sometimes aggroing two or more groups is inevitable: a Jade Brotherhood Monk or Jade Brotherhood Ritualist will leave its group to try and heal an ally in another group which you are fighting. Don't hesitate to retreat if it looks like the tide is turning against you.

The layout of Dragon's Throat lends itself particularly well to balling up, both for you and for the enemies - there are many narrow tunnels, stairways, corners, and other choke points. This is both a good thing and a bad thing: on the one hand, it is easy to eliminate entire groups of Jade Brotherhood at once with strong AoE. On the other hand, it is also easy for the Jade Brotherhood's AoE to make short work of your party. Care should be taken when flagging heroes and henchmen.

It is very helpful to take anti-melee skills such as Ward Against Melee, Eruption, etc. The Jade Brotherhood Warriors can cause considerable damage with their combination of Splinter Weapon, Triple Chop, and Cyclone Axe.

Note that killing the named bosses causes more foes to spawn (including in Reisen's group at the end), making the quest much more difficult. None of the bosses have to be defeated on the way to him, so it may be advisable to avoid them entirely. They are easy to spot, as they are initially friendly, and speak some dialogue if you approach close enough.

NPCs

 * See: Dragon's Throat (explorable area).

Initial dialogue

 * Xan Hei
 * ''"We've been able to discover the name of the Jade Brotherhood's leader, thanks to you. He goes by the name of Reisen the Phoenix, and we've got some leads as to where he might be found. It won't be an easy trip, but the hardship is worth it; we could end centuries of corruption and violence. Let's eliminate this scourge of our people! You are the best asset that the Ministry has, so I want to send you in first.
 * If you're willing to undertake this, come speak to me again when you're ready. I will direct you to where you should go."

Intermediate dialogue

 * : "I need to find Reisen the Phoenix. I should try to avoid as many engagements as possible. I don't want any needless bloodshed."


 * Sheng Pai: "When we leave here, go and warn your family."
 * Jade Brotherhood Warrior: "Why? What's going on?"
 * Sheng Pai: "I don't know. All I know is that people have been going missing."


 * Lai, Graceful Blade: "I could have sworn that I heard something."
 * Jade Brotherhood Warrior: "I've been having that feeling lately. Like something is watching, you know?"
 * Lai, Graceful Blade: "It is probably not your imagination. Things are not as secure for us as they once were. We can't afford to be anything less than deadly serious."


 * Jang Wen: "I can't believe this! Being forced to skulk about in the shadows as though we were the Am Fah!"
 * Jang Wen: "Why don't we just take the fight to the Ministry of Purity? What is Reisen trying to prove?"


 * Rei Bi: "Bloody Ministry of Purity, giving the people hope. Hah, what a lot of fools! It's more like giving an idiot a dagger without telling 'em which end is sharp."
 * Rei Bi: "If it were up to me, I'd just kill 'em all now! Why are we even here? How pathetic."


 * Seiran of the Cards: "I still can't believe what happened to Ganshu."
 * Seiran of the Cards: "It's true that he was an incredibly pretentious bore, but that was the worst anyone could accuse him of."

When approaching Reisen the Phoenix after avoiding the Jade Brotherhood bosses.
 * Reisen the Phoenix: "I expected someone to come for me, but I never believed that they would be so conscientious as to come for me by themselves. Very well. For the respect that you have shown me, I will fight you as an equal."

When approaching Reisen the Phoenix after killing 1 of the Jade Brotherhood bosses.
 * Reisen the Phoenix: "I knew you would be coming. Word travels quickly, and it did not take great intelligence to see that my life was in danger. You took a friend from me, but that will be the last. Your movement ends here and now!"

When approaching Reisen the Phoenix after killing 2 of the Jade Brotherhood bosses.
 * Reisen the Phoenix: "Not quite as clever as you thought you were, are you? Stumbling blindly through here, taking lives along the way. You came to kill me, but instead you killed two of my friends. Now I will take your life as recompense!"

When approaching Reisen the Phoenix after killing 3 of the Jade Brotherhood bosses.
 * Reisen the Phoenix: "Three of my friends, dead. And now you show your face in front of me. What gall you have. What made this worth it to you? No matter. This is as far as you go."

When approaching Reisen the Phoenix after killing 4 of the Jade Brotherhood bosses.
 * Reisen the Phoenix: "You took four important lives before coming for mine. What's the matter? Did you not wish to waste time finding and slaughtering my last friend? You wretch. You will regret ever coming here."

When approaching Reisen the Phoenix after killing 5 of the Jade Brotherhood bosses.
 * Reisen the Phoenix: "Pathetic. I wondered when you would come, little dog of the Ministry. You slaughtered five friends of mine; was their blood not enough to sate you? Does your justice require my life as well? Come on, if you think you can take me."

After defeating Reisen the Phoenix.
 * Reisen the Phoenix: "Why are you hesitating? Go on! End it! You got my name from the manifest, right? Along with all the other active members of the Jade Brotherhood. Will you hunt them down and kill them, too?"
 * : "Wait. What did you just say?"
 * Reisen the Phoenix: "You heard me. Maybe you think we're a nameless evil, but our way of life has existed for hundreds of years. Each and every member of this gang, everyone that you have killed, is a person."
 * Reisen the Phoenix: Their families will never see them again, and why? All because the Ministry's answer, your answer, to anything they consider wrong is to remove it.""
 * : "Those texts were only supposed to have your name in them. You're telling me that what I handed over to the Ministry was a list of everyone?"
 * Reisen the Phoenix: "How sad. You came this far without realizing that you were being used. And now is your chance to speak with the one responsible. I'll be making my exit now... but this isn't over."
 * Xan Hei: "He's escaping! Why did you let him live?"
 * : "Is what he said true? Was that really a manifest? We can't hunt people down like this. We'd be no better than them!"
 * Xan Hei: "How naive can you be? Evil exists in this world; we're fighting to end it! If people misunderstand what I must do to make the world better, then so be it. I knew from the start that I didn't belong in the world I was helping to create."
 * Xan Hei: "The future doesn't belong to you or me. It belongs to those who come after us. Their hands will be clean of blood; they need not know any sin, if we pay that price for them. To think that a child, like Ashu, might never again know pain! Isn't that a future worth fighting for?"
 * : "I can't go along with this. The Ministry has been doing good work, but you're taking this too far. There are better ways to make this country strong again!"
 * Xan Hei: "I see. I think it is finally time for you to speak with Minister Reiko. Once you see her vision, you will truly understand what we fight for. Do you know why we wear these masks?"
 * Xan Hei: "Because we don't fight as ourselves. We represent the will of the people, united in our cause. I want you to be a part of that. Listen to Reiko, meet Ashu, and if their vision does not move you... then walk away from this."
 * Xan Hei: "You can walk away and leave Cantha in the hands of her people, the ones who care most for her."

Reward dialogue

 * Xan Hei
 * "It's time for you to meet with Minister Reiko, so that you can see the purity of her vision for yourself. For further instructions, speak with the Herald of Purity in Kaineng Center."

Trivia

 * Xan Hei's speech and attitude are very similar to those of the Operative from the movie Serenity.