This guide details a specific part in Chapter 2 of Jade Empire. It is complete with a map, legend, and walkthrough.
Walkthrough
After your impromptu landing, you begin here at the Dam Site not too far from Tien’s Landing, your main destination. Your first objective is to make it to the south exit at area #9. This initial trek is pretty simple with a few fights and a strange meeting before reaching Tien’s Landing. The western side of the map can’t be reached until later, so don’t worry about the raised bridge near area #5 just yet.
1 – Arrival
After your small party has recovered from the nasty-looking flyer crash, you’ll begin your trek toward the south from this crash site.
2 – Convict Ghosts
Three convict ghosts will ambush you at this location. When they’ve been defeated, your character will have another vision of the Water Dragon spirit. She will explain that you possess only one fragment of the Dragon Amulet and that there are three other pieces – two physical and one spiritual – that you must search for. She goes on to tell you that the second piece is being protected by “a guardian” right here at this dam site, which is mysteriously convenient considering that you crashed here.
3 – Trapped Headstone
When you smash this headstone, three more convict ghosts will ambush you. If you don’t want to deal with them, just leave the headstone alone.
4 – Spirit Font
Meditating at a Spirit Font will restore all of your character’s Health and Chi.
5 – Bones
Sifting through these bones will reveal a small amount of silver and a random essence gem (such as a 
Warrior’s Gem of Fate or an 
Inferior Intimidation Gem).
6 – Conscripts
Three conscripts guard this covered bridge, so expect a fight before you can reach the other side.
7 – Mysterious Woman
After crossing the bridge, a veiled woman will leap from the ledge above to cut off your advance. She’ll accuse you of being one of Death’s Hand’s hirelings or Gao’s marauding pirates (after watching you fly away from the carnage at Two Rivers) and a battle will inevitably begin.
When she’s defeated, she’ll relinquish some new information about Death’s Hand, Gao the Greater, and the Lotus Assassins before recommending that you travel to the Imperial City if you seek revenge for your master’s kidnapping. With that, she leaps back to the ledge above and disappears.
8 – Bamboo Cask
This bamboo cask contains a small pile of silver ready for the taking.
9 – Exit
Following this pathway will bring you to Tien’s Landing.
10 – Imperial Soldiers
Three Imperial Soldiers will stop you as you attempt to travel farther north. They’ve been sent by Death’s Hand to ensure that nobody reaches the ruins beyond and it won’t be long before you’re forced to fight the lot of them.
When the battle is over, a man named Chen Yi will come running up to you and swear that he is not your enemy even though he wears the Imperial Army uniform. He claims that he is a farmer that was forced to join the army against his will. Should you decide to let him live, you’ll gain Open Palm points. If you’d rather cut him down just to make sure, you’ll gain Closed Fist points.
11 – Bamboo Cask
After finishing off the Imperial Soldiers, pop this bamboo cask open for a handful of silver pieces.
12 – Tower
The ground floor of this tower contains a Focus Shrine and three chests. Two of the chests can contain essence gems, while the third (closest to the Focus Shrine) contains the 
Silk Strings plot item. Which gems you receive from the first two chests actually depends on the order you open them in. The most rewarding order has you opening the right chest first for a 
Gem of Gentle Mind, then the chest near the Focus Shrine for the Silk Strings, and then the chest closest to the door for a 
Slick Gem. If you open the chests in a different order, you’ll most likely end up with a low-end random essence gem and might only end up with a single gem instead of two.
13 – Ruin Gate
This locked gate will bring you to the Ruins, but you’ll need the Ruins Key from Minister Sheng in Tien’s Landing before you can open it.
14 – Second Arrival
Once you’ve completed the Ruins and exited its southern pathway, you’ll arrive at this previously inaccessible section of the Dam Site.
15 – Wild Flower/Chai Ka
A giggling little girl named Wild Flower will approach you here and warn you of an impending attack by a huge guardian demon named Chai Ka. As it turns out, Chai Ka has actually taken over spiritual residence inside the little girl and will materialize from within her to attack you.
The guardian hits very hard and fast, so the best thing to do is to jump over him, strike quickly from behind and then back away until you can repeat. When he’s at about half health he’ll yield once to talk, then attack again. At about a quarter health, he’ll concede and realize that you are not a member of the Lotus Assassins. After a quick explanation of how the Lotus Assassins stole the portion of the Dragon Amulet that he was guarding, you’ll gain a new follower – Wild Flower/Chai Ka. When Chai Ka leaves and Wild Flower reappears in his place, she’ll hand you an Inferior Scholar Gem and an Inscrutable Power Source, which you’ll need later on at the pirate base to power the Marvelous Dragonfly.
16 – Chest
A chest tucked away at the back of this pathway will provide you with a new technique called The River of Time.
17 – Spirit Font
Meditating at a Spirit Font will restore all of your character’s Health and Chi.
18 – Golem Sentries/Lotus Apprentice
These two Golem Sentries will demand that you speak the command word or “suffer the wrath of Death’s Hand.” As you learned from the Lotus Assassin and Imperial Guard in the Ruins, the command word is “Shao Hua.” Feeding them the command word earns you 500 experience points, while telling them any of the other dialogue options available to you will provoke an attack.
On your way back up after either closing or disabling the dam, you’ll encounter a Lotus Apprentice, an Imperial Sergeant, and two Imperial Soldiers here. After a brief amount of dialogue, you’ll be forced to fight all four of them.
19 – Gazebo
Search this gazebo to find a scrollstand entitled 
Tragedy in Tien’s Landing, a trapped chest containing a fair amount of silver, and a bridge control lever. Activating the lever will lower the nearby bridge, therefore granting you access to the eastern side of the Dam Site.
20 – Jade Heart
The mechanism that controls the opening and closing of the Great Dam is powered by an artifact called the Jade Heart. You can either use the artifact to close the dam (Open Palm route) or remove it and disable the dam so it can never be closed again (Closed Fist route). Keep in mind that if you choose to close the dam, you will not be able to gain access to the Ruins anymore, so make sure you’ve done everything you want to do there first. Regardless of which route you choose, you’ll earn 5000 experience points.
21 – Silk Fox
After making your way through the Ruins and crossing the bridge from the western side of the Dam Site, you will be approached by the same veiled woman you met earlier. She reveals herself as Silk Fox and goes on to compliment you for surviving this long. After that, she offers to tell you where Master Li was taken – but only if you tell her who Master Li really is.
If you tell her that he is Sun Li the Glorious Strategist, she won’t believe you, but will consider it a fair answer nonetheless. In return, she explains that Death’s Hand would have taken Master Li to the Imperial City and instructs you to find a flyer and a wind map so you can continue your search. She suggests that you try and obtain a wind map from Lord Yun in the Great Southern Forest, but doesn’t seem to know anything about a potential flyer. When the conversation ends, you’ll automatically receive 500 experience points.
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