How to Enter Crimson Manor: Puppet's Tongue and Three Portals

Crimson Manor is in Weeping Creek Valley, not Crimson Forest. Maxroll describes reaching it after the Hunt: with access to the Sha-Chi tower camp already unlocked, go toward the tower base, use the hanging Powderkeg to clear the rubble and take the elevator down to the locked door. A Bell lets you return later. The tower-camp key pickup is not established here; the Mandate Outer Gate Key below is a different key. See Maxroll's linked route for this approach.

PC Gamer places portal 1 below the well in Village of Lu, by the Puppet Testing Grounds Bell; Maxroll specifies after Yuzan, No. 3 Musician Puppet, near the red threads. Portal 2 is at the end of Mandate Encampment after its boss; Maxroll specifies behind the building after Yubi, No. 21 Swordfighter Puppet. To unlock the camp's outer gate near Village of Lu, first obtain the Outer Gate Key below the well after Gu Wanyue in Pangzhen; use the existing key guide below. Portal 3 is after the region boss in Mountain of Imprisonment, reached through the Illusory Pipa barrier. The sources do not establish an exact third-portal Bell or coordinate here.

Check four items, not just the bosses: Broken Illusory Pipa from Bai Chilian in Crimson Forest (Maxroll only); Head from Dusk, behind the Temple of Blue Fireflies barrier unlocked through Firefly's Memory Flowers; Backplate on the table after the Mandate Encampment boss; Strings from Yan Qiansui at the sunken opera house in southern Meigu Lake. Yan'er’s Memory Flowers and associated quest progression unlock access to that fight: do not skip that prerequisite. PC Gamer mentions flowers around the island, including two toward Pangzhen docks, but this guide does not cover Yan'er's flower-by-flower route or exact quest triggers. Bring the broken instrument and all three parts to Myst at the Order's underground tavern in Pangzhen for repair. Then use Illusory Pipa at the northeastern Meigu Lake barrier.

These are dependencies, not a compulsory order for every branch. Firefly flowers → Temple barrier → Dusk → Head. Outer Gate Key → Mandate boss → Backplate and portal 2. Yan'er flowers/quest → Yan Qiansui → Strings. Bai Chilian → broken instrument. Broken instrument + Head + Backplate + Strings → Myst → northeastern lake barrier → Mountain boss → portal 3. Village of Lu well → portal 1. All three portals → puppet conversation → Puppet's Tongue → Manor → Hansui. Completing all of Secrets is not a prerequisite for repairing the Pipa or entering the Manor.

After the third portal, speak with the suspended puppet to receive Puppet's Tongue, then return to the Crimson Manor door and unseal it. PC Gamer identifies the occupant as the fourth Acolyte for Secrets at the Heart of the Lake; Maxroll names Hansui and Hansui's Frost Mask. Entering the Manor is the goal of this guide, not a guarantee of finishing the whole lake quest or obtaining both eyes.

Crimson Manor covers the fourth Acolyte part of Secrets at the Heart of the Lake, not its complete walkthrough. Maxroll connects Hansui's mask and the other three Acolyte masks to the Four Guardians' Mirror barrier in northwestern Meigu Lake. That is a different barrier from the northeastern one opened with Illusory Pipa. Do not make the four-mask barrier a prerequisite for the Pipa's Strings. The full quest ending and eye acquisition route are outside this guide.

Why does the door stay shut on an early visit? Finding the elevator is not enough: return with Puppet's Tongue. Where is the tongue? Speak with the puppet after completing The Herald's Illusion's three portals. Is Illusory Pipa required? Yes, for access to the Mountain of Imprisonment portal. Must Secrets at the Heart of the Lake already be complete? No; entering the Manor advances its fourth-Acolyte part. Is this Crimson Forest? No: the Manor is in Weeping Creek Valley.