🔀 Decision Guide
The Weeping Swan — All Choices & Consequences
Every meaningful decision in The Weeping Swan: Ten Days of the City's Fall, organized by day. Permanent choices that lock or unlock ending routes are marked with 🔴 PERMANENT. Use this as a quick reference during your playthrough without reading full day summaries.
Day 1 Day One — The Gates Fall
An injured merchant blocks the alley, begging for help
Help carry him to safety (costs ~8 minutes game-time)
→ Unlocks a unique item (merchant's seal) that opens a locked room on Day 5. +5 Morale for Little Yan.
Step past with an apology
→ Save time, but the merchant's fate weighs on Fang (minor Sanity penalty). No impact on endings.
First meeting with Little Yan — she won't move
Speak gently, use her name (requires you noticed her name-tag nearby)
→ Little Yan Fear drops to 15 (base 30). She trusts Fang faster. Required for one memory fragment unlock.
Urgent: 'We have to leave NOW'
→ She moves immediately but Fear stays at 30. Functional but closes one narrative path.
Day 2 Day Two — The Burning Streets
Scholar Wang's family cannot move fast — leading them means risk
Lead Scholar Wang's family to safety via the Canal Route
→ Slower, more dangerous path. Wang becomes a permanent ally. Ending B unlocked. Madam Qionghua's trust +20.
Tell Wang you'll send help and press forward with Little Yan alone
→ Faster. Wang's fate becomes ambiguous until Day 5. Ending B permanently locked.
Yaoguai patrol spotted 20 meters ahead — you have Little Yan and possibly Wang's family
Wait (hide for 10 minutes game-time)
→ Safe. Patrol moves on. No cost.
Distract with thrown object
→ Works if you have a throwable item. Saves 10 minutes. Little Yan Fear +10 if she sees the Yaoguai react.
Day 3 Day Three — Memories Bleed Through
Lin Pianpian asks if anyone has anything to share at the evening gathering
Share the wine flask with her (requires you kept it from Day 1)
→ Lin Pianpian Trust +35. Unlocks a private conversation on Day 5. Required for Ending C.
You don't have the flask, or you keep it
→ If kept: preserved for Day 7 ritual event that adds Sanity +15. Ending C locked if flask was lost.
Memory Fragment — a flashback of Su Lianyan's last morning. She asks: 'Do you think I made the right choice?'
Yes. Whatever you chose was right.
→ Sanity +8. Affects the tone of the True Ending monologue.
I don't know. I've never understood.
→ Triggers an extended flashback — costs 15 minutes but reveals lore about her death.
Day 4 Day Four — The Well and the Walls
Limited water — share with the shelter or hoard for the party
Share rations openly
→ Trust gains with survivors; slightly faster Sanity recovery events.
Hoard for Fang and Little Yan
→ Easier personal survival checks; NPC trust penalties later.
Day 5 Day Five — Fractured Streets
A locked archive — you may have the key from Day 1
Enter if you have the seal
→ Access to sealed lore and fragment opportunities.
Bypass
→ Faster traversal; missable content remains locked.
Day 6 Day Six — Twenty-four Bridges
Lin Pianpian asks for commitment on a dangerous errand
Go with her
→ Major trust gain; Ending C trajectory strengthened.
Refuse
→ Safer short term; may soft-lock parts of Ending C.
Day 7 Day Seven — The Ritual Night
Perform the wine ritual (requires flask + candles)
Complete the ritual
→ Large one-time Sanity restore; unique scenes.
Skip
→ No restore; harder Days 8-10.
Day 8 Day Eight — The Betrayal Fork
Little Yan is cornered — your stance defines the rest of the game
Stand with her openly (protect / reassure)
→ Keeps Ending A eligible if other conditions are met.
Betray, abandon, or exploit her position
→ True Ending route closes; other endings may still be reachable.
Day 9 Day Nine — Beneath the Myth
Final approach to the confrontation zone
Take the safer hidden path (if unlocked)
→ Avoids instant-fail encounter triggers.
Rush the main avenue
→ High risk of death scene unless requirements met.
Day 10 Day Ten — The City's Fall
Final reflection — what Fang accepts as truth
Embrace the gathered memory evidence
→ Enables Ending A resolutions when all flags align.
Turn away from the truth
→ Routes toward alternate emotional endings depending on prior flags.
🔗 Related Guides
❓ Choices FAQ
How many endings does The Weeping Swan have?
There are three main story endings (A, B, and C), one bad ending (Ending D — the sanity collapse route), and one bonus chapter (Ending E) for fans of The Hungry Lamb. Beyond these, the game has 28 distinct death scenes and several 'chapter bad ends' that restart from a checkpoint. For completionists, cataloguing all death scenes is a substantial additional challenge.
Is there combat in The Weeping Swan? What kind of game is it really?
The Weeping Swan is primarily a narrative visual novel with survival-adventure mechanics layered on top. There is no traditional turn-based or action combat system. 'Combat' in this game means the choice between running, hiding, using items to create distractions, or accepting that confronting certain enemies means death. The focus is on resource management, timed dialogue choices, stealth navigation, and psychological horror through the Sanity system. Think Higurashi meets a survival horror VN.
I missed the wine flask on Day 1. Can I still get Ending C?
Unfortunately, no. The wine flask in the scholar's study on Day 1 is a permanently missable item, and it is required for the Day 3 choice that unlocks Lin Pianpian's trust path leading to Ending C. This is one of The Weeping Swan's most discussed design decisions — the game wants you to discover this on a second playthrough. Use the chapter-select feature to replay from Day 1 and make sure you check the leftmost drawer of the top-floor desk.
What is the Sanity system and why does it matter so much?
The Sanity system (清醒值) is the defining mechanic of The Weeping Swan. Fang's sanity starts at 100 and depletes through trauma, bad choices, and skipped rest. Below 50%, the game begins lying to you — dialogue options mean different things than they appear, character faces flicker, and Fang's narration becomes actively unreliable. Below 20%, 'Beast Vision' permanently alters some scenes. At 0%, you trigger Ending D (bad ending). Managing sanity isn't just about survival — it's about the quality of information you receive and which endings remain accessible.