After you’re caught for crimes in Where Winds Meet, your character wakes up inside a prison camp—dressed in ragged clothes and tagged with your crime. While it seems restrictive at first, the prison system is fully interactive, allowing you to work, pay, or perform your way out.
Below is everything you need to know about getting into prisons of Where Winds Meet, including prison locations, features, and how to escape quickly.
How to go to prison in Where Winds Meet
1. Commit crimes that raise your Pursuit Level
The game tracks your illegal actions through a system called Pursuit Orders. If you commit crimes repeatedly, the Pursuit Level escalates:
- Theft
- Assault
- Murder
- Disturbing officials
- Causing chaos in cities
2. Let the guards defeat you
You only get jailed if:
- Guards successfully knock you out
- Your Pursuit Level is active
- You are in a governed region
Immediately afterward, you see the Justice Has Been Served screen. This confirms your arrest.
3. Get transferred to the nearest prison
Your prison destination depends on where you were arrested:
- Arrested in Kaifeng region → Kaifeng City Prison
- Arrested in Qinghe region → Qinghe – Riverside Station Prison Patrol
Both prisons have labor yards, wardens, and options to work off or shorten your sentence.
Prison locations in Where Winds Meet
Kaifeng Prison
Kaifeng Prison, officially marked as Kaifeng Prefecture Prison, sits in the central government district of Kaifeng City, just north of the Furnace Area and south of the main prefecture buildings. It’s the jail you’re taken to whenever you’re arrested within the Kaifeng region.
Qinghe – Riverside Station Prison Patrol
This prison sits south of Moonveil Mountain near the Gleaming Abyss.
When arrested in the Qinghe region, you’re taken to Riverside Station—a wooden prison camp by the water. This location allows Work off Sentence and Musical Interlude activities.
What happens after you're arrested
Once imprisoned, you lose your regular outfit and become a criminal inmate temporarily. You’ll see:
- Your sentence type (Flogging, Imprisonment, Banishment)
- A timer
- Available prison activities
- Other player inmates who were arrested too
From here, you can begin reducing your sentence or simply wait for release.
Available sentence-reduction systems
Labor Time – Work off your punishment
You can perform labor tasks, usually collecting or submitting building materials for repairs. This reduces time on your sentence and may earn a pardon.
Submit building materials
If you bring materials beforehand, you can instantly turn them in and shorten your sentence significantly.
Musical Interlude – Nighttime performance
Under Evening Reflection, guards may force inmates to perform music.
If you play correctly and win approval, your sentence is reduced.
Pay for a shorter sentence
The fastest method:
At Qinghe, speak to Ma Da, the warden NPC inside the cage area.
You’ll see the prompt:
- Spend money to atone – Cost varies (ex: 1728 silver)
Paying immediately cuts your sentence down or releases you outright.
Waiting it out
If you prefer, you can simply idle until the timer ends.
You go to prison in Where Winds Meet when your crimes stack up, and the guards finally take you down. If you want to experience prison intentionally, just cause chaos, let yourself be captured, and you’ll be escorted to either Kaifeng or Qinghe Prison. From there, you can work, sing, or pay for your freedom.
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