ピアスEarring

Someone told you about us, did they? Us district folk help by monitoring the qi flow throughout the hutongs.

When it starts feeling unsafe, we lock down the hutongs, and don't reopen them without a good reason.

That said, we could always change our minds if offered the right "reason", if you catch my drift.

The pawner told me you landed on a pretty spiffy earring. That true?

All right, show it to me.

Did you want to talk to the lady projected inside of that wangren? Here, I'll return your earring. The qi flow inside the hutongs seems out of our control now. I hate that you have to go it alone.

All right, little earring, into the bottle you go... Plink!

You're just so tiny, see? I'd rather put you in, haa haa...

Hey. Do you... like earrings?

Me? Ahem! Ahahahaha! Haah... I love my little darlings veeery much. Haa haah, i-if you see any earrings l-lying around... bring them to me. I'll give them a good home. Pl-plea...

Hehe, there's no malice in me, baby. See, my heart's already full, thanks to my hobby of collecting earrings.

Did Nguyễn want your photo too?

He'd spoken with a young woman earlier, but I don't know how she understood him if his translator pack is broken. J.C., at least, speaks Vietnamese. His jewellery stall is down the stairs and to the right.

Ayo! The name's J.C. You here to use the passage?

The chick who went in earlier never came back to West City. Wish I caught her name. She had such looong earrings on, I... Sorry, where was I?

Oh, I know. You're another one who's here to speak to Nguyễn, am I right? Well, Nguyễn's moping at his place. Reddish door across the hall.

The bottle merchant likes earrings. Has a big thing for womens' ears. Your lady friend wasn't there, was she? Anyways, Nguyễn went to the riverbank to ask the old man about his stone.

Hehe, today's my lucky day. Do you want to know whyyy? Because! ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... I found this huge earring near that passage exit you came from.

You don't find something this juicy sitting around every day! Only, it's a liiittle too big.

Woah, l-look at that...! What's that cutie you have there?

D-do you... wanna trade that little thing for this big hunker I have? Please...?

You know this feeling, don't you?

No, you can't hide it from me... You and I... share the same hobby. Here. Take this deluxe bottle. When you get home, drop that earring into this bottle. It's big, sure, but an earring's an earring.

Man, am I happy. To think, I'd find someone else with this hobby.

When I first saw you, I had a feeling you were just like me.

When it comes to getting bottled, earrings beat Corpses any day,

what, with their satisfying, "Plink!" sounds and all.

Fess up! You got an earring from the bottle merchant on Lung Shing Road! ... Hehe. Yeah, I thought as much. If you ever find the owner to that earring you got, give it back to them. If you don't, the owner would... dare I say it, "lose their balance"? Heh. Earrings are special like that.

If you need to find your lady friend, Nguyễn will unlock the passage for you.

That "shouldn't" count as breaking his promise to the locksmith.

That reminds me... Her earrings! There's that old guy on Lung Shing Road who collects earrings on the side!

Maybe she wanted to trade one of her earrings for one of his bottles!

Do you need to trade for a bottle too? If you're serious about this chase, I'll give you one of my pieces.

Earring acquired.