Hua Qianxiao, the Sword Fanatic is the first major boss encountered in the Crimson Forest. He is found on the Pangzhen Bridge.
Qianxiao is a very fun and unique boss built around his drinking mechanic. The fight can feel quite forgiving at first, but he can also punish mistakes very hard if you let him stay empowered for too long.
He only has one phase, but within that phase he shifts between a normal state and a far more dangerous empowered drunk state.
This guide was written and tested on Hellwalker difficulty.
Boss Mechanics
Drink Channels
This fight is defined by how well you deal with Qianxiao's drink channels.
At the start of the fight, and again during the encounter, he will stop to drink water or other liquids. If he successfully finishes the channel, he enters an empowered state, and his Sha-Chi will slowly drain over time.
Because of this, your priority should be to interrupt as many drink channels as possible. Interrupting one instantly drains all of his Sha-Chi and creates one of the largest damage windows in the fight.
The easiest way to interrupt him is by using the Dread Axe. A simple tap is enough, so there is no need to spend multiple Spark Charges. Since these channels happen several times throughout the fight, it is much more efficient to conserve your resources and interrupt each one as cheaply as possible.
After the first successful channel, Qianxiao can also surround himself with floating swords before drinking. When this happens, you can no longer interrupt him directly and are forced to deal with his empowered state instead.
This makes drink management the most important mechanic in the fight. The more often you interrupt him, the shorter and easier the encounter becomes.
Empowered State
During his empowered state, Qianxiao becomes much more dangerous.
He gains greater mobility, faster and more slippery attack strings, harder parry timings, and additional grab pressure. His attacks in this state are much more difficult to read cleanly, so this is usually the part of the fight where you want to play more defensively.
One of the most important moves to watch for is his drink grab. At the end of certain strings, he will grab you and begin drinking. This attack does not deal direct damage, but it is still one of the worst things to get hit by because it restores a large amount of his Sha-Chi and extends the empowered portion of the fight.
In other words, even though the attack itself looks less threatening than his direct damage moves, it can make the entire encounter much longer and more difficult if you let it connect.
While he is empowered, you also cannot damage him by reflecting his Red Parry attacks. He will simply catch or recover the sword instead. This is a major difference from his normal state and is worth keeping in mind, because players may otherwise assume they can punish him the same way throughout the entire fight.
If you ever run out of Sha-Chi from failed parries or extended blocking, switch to your second weapon to replenish it. That can help stabilize the fight and prevent you from falling behind during his most dangerous state.
Normal Phase Attacks
When Qianxiao is not in his drunk or empowered state, the fight is much more manageable.
He is less mobile, his attack strings are shorter, and his parry timings are much easier to learn. This is also the state where the fight becomes much more rewarding, because his Blue Parry and Red Parry attacks can both be turned into strong punish windows.
Unlike during his empowered state, in his normal state he can be hit properly by his reflected Red Parry attacks.
If you react correctly to his Blue or Red parry opportunities, you can often punish him hard enough to remove most, or nearly all, of his Sha-Chi. This is one of the main reasons the fight becomes much easier once you understand his rhythm.
Normal state is where you should be looking to take control of the fight. Stay composed, land your counters cleanly, and use these windows to push him back toward another interrupt or full Sha-Chi break.
General Strategy
The overall strategy for this fight is simple:
Interrupt his drink channels whenever possible, survive his empowered state when you cannot, and heavily punish him during his normal state.
At the start of the fight, your main goal should be to deny his first drink as quickly as possible. Doing so immediately puts you in control and removes a large amount of his momentum.
If he does enter his empowered state, slow the fight down. Focus on parrying, blocking carefully, and avoiding his drink grab, rather than trying to force damage. This part of the encounter is much more about survival and control than aggression.
Once he returns to normal, that is when you should become more aggressive. His Blue and Red parry attacks are much more rewarding here, and a clean punish can remove a huge amount of his Sha-Chi
The fight is at its hardest when Qianxiao is allowed to drink freely and remain empowered for long stretches. If you keep interrupting him and avoid giving back momentum, the boss becomes far more manageable.
