Hua Qianxiao

Hua Qianxiao, the Sword Fanatic, is Phantom Blade Zero's required drunken sword boss on the bridge at Pangzhen Bridge Overlook in the Crimson Forest, Chapter 4. Interrupt his drinking charge with the Dread Axe, block his flurries, dodge after his pin, and he drops the Fanatic's Broken Blade; 72.5% of Steam players had beaten him by Nov 9, 2026.

Break his drinking charge with the Dread Axe and Hua Qianxiao, the Sword Fanatic, falls apart: that one interrupt fully staggers him, and every guide builds the fight around it. He is the drunken swordsman who stands on the bridge at Pangzhen Bridge Overlook in the Crimson Forest and blocks the way on, the first boss of Snake's Reflection in Game8's order. 72.5% of Steam players held his achievement on Nov 9, 2026, five days after Steam showed 66.7%. He has nothing to do with Hua, Deadly Betrothed, the optional bride of Weeping Creek Valley, despite the shared name.

Quick facts

Where	By the wooden bridge, Pangzhen Bridge Overlook, Crimson Forest
Chapter	4: Snake's Reflection (Game8)
Required	Yes, a main boss who blocks the bridge
Nearest bell	Pangzhen Bridge Overlook, about 35 m away
Suggested weapon level	5, at that bell (Game8)
Rewards	The Fanatic's Broken Blade
Achievement	"A Thousand Cups Drained", 72.5% of Steam players on Nov 9, 2026
Phases	One; the guides describe no second phase

Getting to the bridge

He waits on the main route into the Crimson Forest: rest at the Pangzhen Bridge Overlook bell, and he is about 35 m away in a straight line, on the bridge. Level your weapons at that bell before you cross; a death puts you back there.

How to beat Hua Qianxiao

Carry the Dread Axe, Peng Meng's Phantom Edge from Chapter 2. Game8 and Method agree it is the key tool: it breaks his drinking bubble and fully staggers him.
Game8's and Method's loadout: Jagged Steel and Sanguine Twin as weapons, Dread Axe and Hunter's Chain Sickle as Phantom Edges. Game8 adds the Healing Gourd, Focus Pill, Battle Wraps, Hunter's Insight and Token of Pursuit. Use Jagged Steel's Rampage while he is staggered and the Sanguine Twin's fast hits while he is aggressive.
Stay close. PCGamesN warns his drunk sword has decent range.
Hold block until his stagger shows, punish with as many hits as you can, then block again until it returns, and swap weapons often.

His moves

Drinking charge: he opens the fight with it, by Method's account: he wraps himself in a bubble while he drinks from his gourd, then lets loose a two-hit area attack that knocks you back, followed by slashes that end in a dodgeable hit. Hit him with the Dread Axe before the blast lands. Game8 says a blue glint on the axe is enough, so you need not charge it fully.
Sword flurries: he bends backward and lunges into five blockable flurries. Hold block to drain his stagger bar, watch for the glint and parry or dodge the next hit, and strike only once he is staggered.
Side-spin swipes: PCGamesN says to perfect dodge when he side-spins into swipes, since a red attack follows.
Breakdance spin: when he spins on the ground, move away from the large area attack that comes out of it (PCGamesN).
Ground pin: he pins Soul, which does little damage but lets him recover and refill his stagger bar. Dodge the follow-up at once: Game8 warns that the cinematic sword throw after it "can be lethal".
Fast combos and a grapple: Method lists rapid combos to parry and a grapple in his kit.

His sword after the fight: the Fanatic's Broken Blade

In Travis Northup's Oct 9, 2026 preview video for IGN (4:19), beating "a drunken fighting master" handed him that boss's drunken style, and he describes what it did in his run: Soul bobs and weaves unpredictably while guiding his blade telekinetically in front of him, then sends it flying at an enemy as a ranged weapon. Method explains the catch: the sword becomes a flying blade only after drinking, which makes Soul Tipsy and releases an unblockable attack, and the Drunk state trades blocking and mobility for more flying sword damage and automatic dodges. Fewer players use it than beat its owner: 35.4% of Steam players had entered the Drunk state with it ("A Drunken Dream") on Nov 9, 2026, against 30.1% on Nov 4. The rest of the arsenal is on Weapons.