Phantom Blade Zero: The Pangzhen Key Hides Behind an Odd Quest Chain

Players hunting for the Pangzhen Backstreet Courtyard Key in Phantom Blade Zero have been searching the wrong places. Scouring the city and revisiting other regions won't turn it up. The key comes from the Mountain of Imprisonment, in an area you pass on the way to the Shrine Outer Gate. That same spot is home to two NPCs, the Agonized Ironmask and the Female Puppet.

Talking to them does nothing at first. Repeated conversations go nowhere, even after the region's main quest is complete. The trigger is finishing Hero's Lament/Moji's Relic. Once that is done, the Ironmask gets new dialogue that opens a short side quest called Ledger of Atonement, which asks you to hand over a book found in the caves. After that, you can defeat the Ironmask in combat. He drops a Sha-Chi Amber Fragment and the key.

The key matters because it unlocks a second quest. The Ironmask's death leads his Female Puppet companion, Bai Xue, to ask for help. She wants the Bloodstained Necklace delivered to her real body. Head back to the Pangzhen Green Serpent House, cross the bridge, and climb the walls past the locked gate near Old Man Gen's house. Getting onto the rooftop lets you reach Bai Xue's home.

Placing the necklace beside her real body spawns a Memory Flower. The second petal is out in the yard. Search the trunk of the large tree there to receive the Snow & Blood accessory. According to the guide, it boosts your damage against any enemy that is bleeding, and it adds 20% extra bleeding damage when enemies attack you.

If you want to keep helping NPCs in the Wulin, finishing Old Man Gen's story is a good next step.