Jing Ye boss guide: three phases, two health bars, one shortcut

At a glance

Getting there

Activate the Outlaw Trap bell in Crimson Forest and walk past it into the open area beyond the ground trap. He engages as you approach — there is no stealth opening.

Moves and how to answer them

Four answers from Game8, in its own order. Each set of stills is three frames pulled from its in-page demo; the phase walkthrough below goes deeper on timing.

Two ways to fight him

The fight has a melee route and a ranged route, and they want different gear. Decide before you walk in, because switching mid-fight means eating a phase.

Route A — melee (faster, demands parry timing)

Hold block through the mounted phase apart from red and blue glints, and wait for the stagger. His opening is usually a parryable jump attack off the horse followed by a three-hit combo that ends in a dodgeable swing — perfect dodge the combo, not the jump.

When he throws projectiles, blocking alone stops working on the last few hits — mix in sidesteps rather than holding guard.

Route B — tipsy ranged (slower, far more forgiving)

Drink to enter the tipsy state before engaging. It converts your attacks into ranged sword throws, which lets you fight from outside almost everything he does while mounted. The timing window is generous; the damage is not.

The catch is the exit: when tipsy expires you are locked in a recovery animation, and that is when he punishes you. Top the state up before it runs out rather than reacting to the bar emptying.

Phase 2: the shield is the gear check

At roughly two-thirds health he dismounts with a spiked shield. Hitting that shield damages you, so plain attacks are actively bad here.

The answer is the Dread Axe Phantom Edge from Peng Meng. Charged heavy attacks cut the shield value fast — two uses is the practical figure. Add the Shieldbreaker Talisman (+50% damage to shield durability) and the phase collapses.

He also gains a move in this phase: he draws a long smoke trail along the ground and charges through it for a black-flash attack. Blocking it empties your Sha-Chi bar; the wind-up is visible. Dodge the smoke on sight rather than guard it.

Phase 3: sword

Shield gone, he fights with the blade alone. The one pattern to learn: a long jump attack always chains into a very quick parryable slash. The screen greys out before the jump — that is your cue to be ready on the parry, not to dodge.

Gear

Where to find Cavalrybane →

Notes

• The dismount is at about two-thirds, not half. Swap to the Dread Axe before he lands, not after.
• Phase 3 starts when the shield breaks, not at a fixed health value.
• Do not chase him mounted. He moves faster than you on horseback; let him come and punish the landing.
• The smoke charge is new in phase 2. It is the one move that can empty your Sha-Chi on a single block.

Related

• Snake’s Reflection — the chapter this fight sits in
• Cavalrybane — boss name and accessory name
• All bosses