All 33 Phantom Blade Zero Tales & Side Quests Walkthrough

The quest log in Phantom Blade Zero splits into 63 entries: 9 Story, 11 Mysteries, 33 Tales, and 10 Collectibles. The Tales are the game’s true side-quest spine, and roughly a third of them close permanently at boss gates you will walk through without warning. This guide lists all 33 with their starts, rewards, and deadlines, then walks the twelve that carry the best gear, the trophies, and the true-ending flags.

The 33 Tales at a Glance

Rewards below are the confirmed ones. “Story resolution” means no unique item is confirmed for that Tale.

#	Tale	Start (region — trigger)	Reward	Missable by
1	Flesh Lily	Weeping — Yu’er by the waterfall	Scarlet Wraithblade; Healer’s Legacy	Before Bai Chilian
2	Four Fierce Axes	Weeping — case file at Broken Puppet Valley bell	Blood Oath Dagger	None
3	Purge the Sect	Weeping — Brooding Old Archer on Outpost roof	Feather Bow	Before Bai Chilian
4	Festering Secret	Weeping — chained courtyard, Outpost	Dread Axe evidence chain	Before Bai Chilian
5	Apprentice Healer	Weeping — Yu’er at Outpost	Medicine Case	Before Jing Ye
6	A Severed Mindseal	Weeping — Shadow Warden, Valley Sha-Chi Tower Summit	Spectral Blade trophy; accessories	First stone before leaving valley
7	Triple Threat	Weeping — statue at The Lady’s Rift	Freezing Chaos	None
8	Honor Among Thieves	Crimson — campfire north of Outlaw Trap	Silent Wrap	Before Bai Chilian
9	A Healer’s Mercy	Crimson — Yu’er at Thieves’ Camp	Calming Gourd	Before Bai Chilian
10	Secrets of the Baishan Sect	Crimson — Lanlan on bridge before Thieves’ Camp	Baishan Stormswords/Headband; trophy	Accept before Bai Chilian; inspect Bi Taotao before Yubi
11	The Journey Home	Lu — Old Man Gen’s hideout	War Wagon; trophy	Report before Pangzhen
12	Young Master Lan	Lu — Lan Shaodi’s hideout	Crimson Resolve; trophy	Speak before Pangzhen
13	A Puppet’s Wooden Heart	Lu — Songstress Puppet, Temple of Blue Fireflies	Accessory	None
14	A Dream of Motherhood	Lu — Sleeping Flower-Masked Weaver	Story resolution	Location unverified (Low)
15	Dahuang	Lu — Hunter, Survivors’ Courtyard	Story resolution	Hound position unverified (Low)
16	Cui	Lu — crying child puppet, Puppet Testing Grounds	Crude Radiant Heart	None
17	Kin Against Kin	Pangzhen — Memory Flower near Lion Dance Hall	Story resolution	Location unverified (Low)
18	Leave None Alive	Outpost after Crimson Forest	Kuye Temple Prayer Beads; Quick Hand’s Manual	None
19	The Sword and the Way	Pangzhen — Daoist Bi Di, Myst’s Tavern	Tianxuan temper; Kuye Temple Sutra	None
20	The Undying Heroic Spirit	Pangzhen — Wolf Leader, tavern basement	Hero’s Courage	None
21	The Star Performer	Pangzhen — Opera Actress, Myst’s Tavern	Dance Fan	None
22	The Cube	Pangzhen — Fisherman, Myst’s Tavern	Remnant Spark Cube	None
23	Don’t Forget Me	Pangzhen — woman on inn rooftop	Letter resolution	None
24	A Mother’s Heart	Pangzhen — Backstreet ridge Memory Flower	Merciful Dew	None
25	Xue, Admirer of Heroes	Mandate — Mass Grave, Corpse-Eating Xue	Sha-Chi Headscarf	None
26	Daughter of the Dark Sect	Mandate — woman at Dovecote	Red fight	Killing Red early locks extras only
27	A Brother Once More	Pangzhen — Xiu’s bedroom, Huang Manor	Rouge Box; Embroidered Shoes	None
28	The Broad Saber	Mountain — Hanging Cage Cavern prisoner	Ritual Cauldron Fragment III	None
29	Hero’s Lament	Mountain — Liu Yi’s lowered cage	Ink Cut	None
30	Ledger of Atonement	Mountain — Chen Zhu, Commander’s Platform	Backstreet Courtyard Key; necklace	None
31	Bai Xue	Mountain/Pangzhen — puppet beside Chen Zhu	Story resolution	Requires Ledger first
32	Use It Against Them	Crimson — Jade Dancer, Sha-Chi Tower 6F	Heel Reinforcement Part	Post-Mirage
33	Heart of the Fist	Crimson — Iron Fiend, Sha-Chi Tower 6F	Worldbreaker Fist material	None

The Three Unverified Entries

Three Tales have only single-source or low-confidence location data. Treat their markers as approximate and sweep the region before its boss gate.

• A Dream of Motherhood (#14) — attributed to a Sleeping Flower-Masked Weaver in the Village of Lu. The trigger location is unverified.
• Dahuang (#15) — attributed to a Hunter in the Survivors’ Courtyard, Village of Lu. The hound’s position is unverified.
• Kin Against Kin (#17) — attributed to a Memory Flower near the Lion Dance Hall in Pangzhen. The exact flower position is unverified.

The Twelve Tales That Matter Most

1. Flesh Lily (Weeping)

Start with Yu’er by the Weeping waterfall. Enter Valley Sha-Chi Tower 1F, circle right, drop behind the tower, cross the wooden bridge into the Flesh Lily Fields, and kill Hua, Deadly Betrothed. Take the Twin Lilies by the pavilion, give them to Yu’er at the Outpost, then travel to Pangzhen and kill Chang Hong at Ancestral Shrine Square. Use the lily on her father to close it. The flowers must be gathered before Bai Chilian.

2. Apprentice Healer (Weeping)

Yu’er at the Outpost asks for three reagents: Blood-Stopper Vine in the river below Axemaster’s Holding Cell, Congealeaf beyond Long Pillar Overlook, and Blemish Goldweed at the river’s end near the Weeping Creek Long Pillar. Return all three for the Medicine Case. This closes before Jing Ye, making it the earliest hard deadline in the game.

3. A Healer’s Mercy (Crimson)

Yu’er again, this time at Thieves’ Camp. Take the Record of the Lost Thieves, then treat four thieves in sequence: one in the small Outlaw Trap cave, one in the larger cave by the chest, one reached via the Cliffside Lodge balcony Cellar Crank into the cellar and passage, and the last in the Thieves’ Camp dungeon using the Dungeon Key. Report back before Bai Chilian.

4. A Severed Mindseal (Weeping)

A friendly Shadow Warden waits at Valley Sha-Chi Tower Summit. Climb the roof, take the ladder, kill the crank carrier, use the crank on the 1F furnace, and take the Primal Stone. Hand it to the Warden before leaving the valley — sources count three to four hand-ins across the game, and the first is the one that locks. Later hand-ins occur at the Pangzhen tower via the Meigu route and the Crimson Forest tower after Mirage. Reward: the Spectral Blade trophy.

5. Purge the Sect (Weeping)

The Brooding Old Archer on the Outpost roof sends you to Creek Valley Plains Entrance and the Ruthless Archer Camp. Clear the corrupted archers, recover the Broken-String Bow, and return for the Feather Bow. Closes before Bai Chilian.

6. Festering Secret (Weeping)

Guards at the chain-sealed Outpost courtyard start this. Kill Peng Meng for the Dread Axe, break the chains, kill the Maskwalkers, and take the Swordsman Captain’s orders. After The Hunt, take the Base Camp Gate Key from the tower roof, unlock the gate near Plains Entrance, give the orders to the blue-robed lieutenant at Long Pillar Overlook, and return Gu Lingran’s letter to the Captain. Closes before Bai Chilian.

7. Secrets of the Baishan Sect (Crimson)

Lanlan on the bridge near Thieves’ Camp. Use the Cliffside Lodge balcony Cellar Crank, cross the cellar plank, use the Secret Chamber Crank, and enter the hidden chamber to find Junior Sister Meng. Then travel to Mandate Encampment, The Confinement, kill Wu Lengshuang, inspect Bi Taotao among the flowers, and finish at the Training Grounds by killing Yubi, No. 21. Accept before Bai Chilian; inspect Bi Taotao before Yubi.

8. Honor Among Thieves (Crimson)

At the campfire north of Outlaw Trap, kill the enemy and take the Blood Letter to the Gentle Thief at Thieves’ Camp. The correct answers are “Stole a landowner’s jade belt”, “Butterfly”, and “The letter never said. His fate is unknown.” Reward: Silent Wrap. Closes before Bai Chilian.

9. The Journey Home (Lu)

Old Man Gen near his village hideout. Open Smuggler’s Tunnel, then report before Pangzhen. In Pangzhen, get the Flaming Mane, burn branches from Pond of Fading Song toward the slums, reach Old Man Gen’s House, unlock the door, examine the body, take the Dusty Old Wooden Comb, and return to him at the village gate. Reward: War Wagon plus a trophy.

10. Young Master Lan (Lu)

Drop from Old Man Gen’s bridge and climb to Lan Shaodi’s hideout. Accept, then after Smuggler’s Tunnel return before Pangzhen. In Pangzhen, go to Pavilion of Knowledge Crossroads, follow the road to the encounter, take the Lan Manor Key, rest at the bell, clear the enemies outside the manor, and speak to enter. Reward: Crimson Resolve plus a trophy.

11. Triple Threat (Weeping → Mirage)

The statue at The Lady’s Rift. Enter the Rift and kill the Aberrant Three-Faced Puppet for the Three-Headed Doll. Collect Mirage Estate flowers at the Training Grounds after Yuding, the Mourning Hall after Qiu Feng, and Leng Tu’s Study. Take Scorching Flame from Zhu Yuan and the east Meigu Long Pillar, temper Sanguine Reach into Blazing Edge, then reach the snow-covered Mirrorwood and kill Yucong, No. 34. Reward: Freezing Chaos.

12. Hero’s Lament (Mountain)

Lower Liu Yi’s cage after Hanging Cage Cavern. At Commander’s Platform, take the ladder east of the bell, cross the wooden structure, grab the Detached Cage Lever, and head to Shrine Outer Gate. Kill Kui Yanyan for the Missing Lift Crank, use the lift, inspect the lowered cage, take Moji’s Bloodstained Sword, and give it to Liu Yi. Reward: Ink Cut.

Completion Route

Run this order to catch every deadline before its gate:

1. Weeping: A Severed Mindseal first stone, Apprentice Healer, Purge the Sect, Festering Secret — all before Jing Ye and Bai Chilian.
2. Crimson: Flesh Lily hand-in, A Healer’s Mercy, Honor Among Thieves, accept Secrets of the Baishan Sect — all before Bai Chilian.
3. Village of Lu: report The Journey Home and speak for Young Master Lan before Pangzhen.
4. Pangzhen: clear the ten purple Mysteries and the pre-Mirage Tales. Manual save at the Green Serpent House door.
5. Mandate / Mountain: Bai Xue (needs Ledger first), Hero’s Lament, Cui, The Broad Saber — no hard cutoff, but finish before the final ascent.
6. Mount Soulrend: everything unfinished dies at The Last Chance.

Missable Checklist

• A Severed Mindseal — first stone before leaving Weeping
• Apprentice Healer — before Jing Ye
• Purge the Sect, Festering Secret — before Bai Chilian
• Flesh Lily, A Healer’s Mercy, Honor Among Thieves — before Bai Chilian
• Secrets of the Baishan Sect — accept before Bai Chilian; Bi Taotao before Yubi
• The Journey Home, Young Master Lan — before Pangzhen
• All ten purple Mysteries — before the Green Serpent House door
• Quick Hand’s 16 Lost Treasures — before The Last Chance
• Heart of the Banyan’s five trees — before the final ascent

Killing Red at the first Dovecote encounter locks some extra collectibles but not trophies. The seven trophy deadlines PowerPyx lists are With Heart and Blood, Forbidden Arts Beneath the Lake, The Last of Baishan, Together Till the End, A Wanderer’s Honor, Spectral Blade, and The Healer’s Legacy; a conflicting quest-data read claims only one achievement deadline exists, so use the seven as the safe set.

Where the Tales Fit the Wider Run

The Tales feed directly into the true-ending chain. The eleven purple Mysteries — Deep in the Valley, Illusion of Inanis, Sha-Chi Powered Boat, Allure of Vanity, Illusory Pipa, Pillars of Kunlun, Whence the Weeping, The Herald’s Illusion, Crimson Manor, Secrets at the Heart of the Lake, and Bloodline Awakening — are separate from the 33 Tales, and the first ten must be finished before entering Mirage Estate. If you are chasing the best outcome, pair this guide with the true ending checklist and the missables checklist. For the deadline-ordered version, see the missables checklist.

Sources & confidence

Primary sources are PowerPyx, KeenGamer, TechWiser, the PBZ Wiki, Game8, Fextralife, GameSpot, GameRant and Kungfupunk, cross-checked against the 63-entry quest log. The biggest uncertainty is the Tale count itself: PowerPyx says 30 side Tales while three other outlets and the wiki say 33, and the three entries flagged above (A Dream of Motherhood, Dahuang, Kin Against Kin) rest on single low-confidence location reports.