Stumbling upon a talking horse might sound like typical jianghu nonsense, but A Kindred Steed delivers one of Where Winds Meet’s most charming Encounter quests. This multi-day adventure involves helping Golden Snow—a nobleman cursed into equine form—rediscover humility through odd jobs and hard lessons. Your choices shape his journey, and the payoff includes valuable Echo Jades plus a touching story about personal growth. Here’s how to complete every step of this quirky quest.
Table of Contents
Where Winds Meet Overview & Requirements
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Quest Type | Encounter (Timed Side Quest) |
| Location | Finesteed Hamlet, Sundara Land, Qinghe |
| NPC | Golden Snow (dappled brown-white horse) |
| Duration | 4 in-game days (can skip time using clock feature) |
| Rewards | 300 Echo Jades 30 Gallantry Exp 1 Rare Equipment |
Step 1: Finding Golden Snow at Finesteed Hamlet
Fast travel to the Boundary Stone south of Finesteed Hamlet in Qinghe’s northern region. Head northeast from the marker to locate the stables and horse merchant Ma Laosan. Among the regular horses, you’ll spot Golden Snow—a distinctive dappled horse with a blanket and spotted pattern on his rear.
Interact with Golden Snow repeatedly (about four times) until he finally acknowledges you. Yes, the horse talks. He’s actually Jin Buque, a haughty nobleman cursed by a sorcerer after disrespecting magical trinkets. The curse won’t break until he learns true humility—but he needs your help since pride keeps getting in his way.
Step 2: Gathering Sour Jujube Berries
Golden Snow’s first request tests your patience: he wants fresh Sour Jujube berries. The good news? The bush is literally a few steps south of where he’s standing. Pick the berries from the nearby vegetation and return to Golden Snow.
During this conversation, he explains his backstory about trampling a sorcerer’s belongings and the resulting transformation. Your character grows frustrated with his arrogant attitude and calls over Ma Laosan, the horse merchant. Together, you convince Ma to take Golden Snow on a job up north—forcing him to experience manual labor for the first time.
Step 3: First Two-Day Wait & Job Choice
Advance the in-game clock by two days using the time skip function (press and hold the designated time button). Return to Finesteed Hamlet and locate Golden Snow near the pond area. He’s had time to reflect on his experience and opens up more honestly about adjusting to horse life.
Now comes your first major choice: Golden Snow must pick between two employers:
Option A: Village Farmer – Hauling grain and performing agricultural work. Humble, unglamorous labor that directly challenges Golden Snow’s vanity.
Option B: Wealthy Family – Serving as a transport horse for privileged merchants. Maintains some status but still requires service to others.
💡 Choice Impact Truth:Both options lead to identical rewards and quest completion—the difference is purely narrative flavor. Golden Snow openly prefers the wealthy family route, but choosing the farmer path provides more character development dialogue later. Pick based on which lesson you think he needs most.
Step 4: Second Wait & Final Transformation
Advance time by one more in-game day, then return to speak with Golden Snow again. He’ll share stories about his job experience based on your earlier choice. Your character continues questioning whether he’s truly learned anything from these menial tasks.
During this conversation, two merchants overhear your discussion. You help smooth over the situation and arrange for Golden Snow to assist them with their next delivery job. After this final outing, something finally clicks for him—real growth comes from genuinely helping others, not just going through the motions of physical labor.
At that revelation moment, Ma Laosan reveals his true identity: he’s actually Luo Gongxian, the sorcerer who originally cursed Golden Snow. The entire multi-day journey was a test designed to teach humility through lived experience rather than punishment. Satisfied that Jin Buque (Golden Snow’s human name) has learned his lesson, Luo lifts the curse and transforms him back into human form.
Quest Completion & Rewards
Jin Buque thanks you for your guidance and promises to help if your paths cross again in Tang. Your rewards include 300 Echo Jades (valuable premium currency), 30 Gallantry Experience points, and a piece of rare equipment for your level range. More importantly, you’ve completed one of the game’s most memorable character-driven side quests.
For more encounter quest strategies, check out our comprehensive Where Winds Meet Encounter Quests guide, and explore other rewarding side content in our Qinghe region secrets collection.
Why This Quest Stands Out
A Kindred Steed exemplifies NetEase’s commitment to storytelling depth in Where Winds Meet. Unlike typical fetch quests, this encounter explores themes of privilege, empathy, and personal transformation through clever narrative design. The sorcerer’s approach—teaching through experience rather than punishment—mirrors the game’s broader philosophy about learning martial arts and understanding the jianghu’s complexities.
The quest also demonstrates the timed Encounter system’s flexibility. While technically on a timer, completing even one objective (like picking the berries) locks in the quest, preventing it from expiring. This design respects player time while maintaining the sense of discovering spontaneous adventures while exploring.
Additional Tips for Encounter Quests
Remember that you can only have three active Encounter quests simultaneously. If your quest log is full when you approach Golden Snow, the quest won’t trigger. Clear space by completing or abandoning other encounters first. Additionally, if an Encounter expires before completion, simply log out and return to the area—most NPCs respawn after a brief cooldown, giving you another chance to start the quest chain.
Do my job choices for Golden Snow affect the final rewards or quest ending?
No, both the village farmer and wealthy family paths lead to identical rewards: 300 Echo Jades, 30 Gallantry Exp, and the same rare equipment drop. The choices only change the dialogue and specific stories Golden Snow shares about his work experiences during later conversations. Choose based on which narrative you find more interesting—the humble agricultural labor teaches empathy through hardship, while the merchant work exposes him to diverse perspectives through travel. Either way, he learns the necessary lesson and transforms back into Jin Buque.
What happens if the quest timer expires before I complete all the steps?
Encounter quests have built-in protection: completing even a single objective (like picking the Sour Jujube berries) stops the expiration timer permanently. However, if you trigger the quest and never interact with it, it will eventually disappear from your quest log. The good news is that you can retake expired Encounters—just log out for a few minutes, log back in, and return to Finesteed Hamlet. Golden Snow should reappear, allowing you to start fresh. This system ensures you never permanently miss quest content, though you may need to redo any previously completed steps.
