Phantom Blade Zero  ›  Locations  ›  Pangzhen
Phantom Blade Zero / Pangzhen

Pangzhen.

Region four of the campaign, a canal settlement of wine houses and piled-up roofs. Myst’s Tavern, Quick Hand Zhang’s hideout and the paths to the Mandate Encampment, Meigu Lake and Mirage Estate all start here.

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Phantom Blade Zero wiki artwork
Phantom Blade Zero wiki artwork
Key points

Pangzhen at a Glance

  • Start with the tavern: Myst's Tavern grants Soul Tempering and sets off a lot of the town's tales, yet a black jar conceals its way in.
  • Talk first, then enter: both The Journey Home and Young Master Lan require a chat in the Village of Lu prior to stepping into Pangzhen.
  • Defeat You Loong ahead of Flame: You Loong's Deluge drenches the Lion Dance Grandmaster, which disables his fire moves.
  • Return once you own Flaming Mane: setting the branches alight opens up the slums, Old Man Gen's House, the docks road to the north, and other places.
  • This town leads to two other regions: Gu Wanyue's well holds the Mandate Encampment Outer Gate Key, and the boat at Pangzhen Docks, driven by Sha-Chi, sails to Meigu Lake.
  • Hold off on the serpent door: going into Mirage Estate by way of Green Serpent House marks the earliest point after which True Ending quests can no longer be done.

Overview

Chapter 4, Town of Death, takes place in Pangzhen, the story's fourth region. Waterways converge at this trading town, which grew wealthy on chilled wine and has since been left deserted by a bizarre illness. Long stairways carry its streets upward and the rooftops serve as walkways, while cellars and tunnels lie below. Street-level, rooftop and cellar paths therefore pile on top of each other.

Few regions in the game are bigger or busier. Soul Tempering becomes available in this place, a lone underground tavern kicks off most of the local tales, and Quick Hand Zhang keeps a hideout among the backstreets. Finding a key in the west lets you into the Mandate Encampment, while a boat docked in the north gets you to Meigu Lake. Because of this, a great deal of later travel in the game begins on this map.

Beyond the Chapter 4 town, the map contains more. The north is taken up by Mirage Estate, which is tallied by that map's tracker too but belongs to the endgame, and it stays locked until you open a door within Green Serpent House. All the rest can be visited well ahead of that point, although a portion requires carrying a Phantom Edge back from a later part of the town or from a different region.

Closer look

Layout of the town

Think of Pangzhen as separate quarters, not a single long street. You begin by ascending from South Gate Bridge via the Marketplace stairs to a pair of crossroads, and the Order's tavern lies hidden just past them. Going west, the Backstreet Archway opens onto a warren made of narrow houses, canal ziplines and alleys; it finishes at the Green Serpent House in the far west, the Banyan Tree pond and, up in the north-west, Lion Dance Hall.

Branches seal off two more zones until Flaming Mane is in your hands. The first is the cliffside in the south-west past the Pond of Fading Song, where you find Back Hill Pavilion, the slums and Old Man Gen's House. The second is the northbound road from the Pavilion of Knowledge, which ends at the docks on Meigu Lake. Past all these, Mirage Estate takes up the map's north.

Play through the town splits into two parts. Part one covers everything from arrival until Gu Wanyue. Right after her you find a key to the Mandate Encampment, and part two continues across the west.

Revisiting later

A lot of this map pays off on a second visit. The checklist below lists what every unlock opens.

Name Details
You Loong's Deluge the Jade Brush Rest, and the fire barrier in the Marketplace.
Flaming Mane Back Hill Pavilion, the slums, the docks road, and the staircase heading for the Mirage Estate bell.
Beating the Chief Disciple of the Seven-Stars Formation the Shattered Hero's Courage, plus the Memory Flower in the slums.
The three Xue items the Sha-Chi Headscarf.
Each of the two parts for The Cube the Remnant Spark Cube.
Illusory Pipa Yuling's Marketplace building, the Thunder Core, and the Auspicious Lion Fireball.
Finishing Don't Forget Me Yuling's Ultimate Talisman.
Backstreet Courtyard Key the Bai Xue courtyard.

Decline and ruin of the town

Originally an eastern settlement, Pangzhen prospered through chilled wine. Wine houses crowded in, and rich merchants purchased property. Twelve merchants from the area combined funds to put up a guild lodge, which was expanded afterwards into Mirage Estate, a venue for staged performances. The town's keys still display that wealth through their orchids, a silver lion and gold cloud charms.

Major story spoilers below.

Early in the story, Yu'er, the daughter of a brewer, runs from the town with word of a bizarre sickness, pleading with Soul to rescue her father. At first he recalls just a handful of cases, and he overhears that whoever stayed awake was a "chosen one" destined to help finish the "Heart". Soul hears from the Flesh Sculptor about a Heart in Pangzhen able to remake flesh and revive the dead, and the Sculptor vows that thanks to it he will outlast his sixty-six days.

Both the townspeople and their livelihoods were torn apart by the illness. Shopkeeper Niu was told that the maids of Huang turned into wooden puppets and murdered him. Singers and zither players who stayed on were likewise entombed in wood and turned into puppets. In time Soul understands that the Order and the Thread-Binding Sect have divided the remains of the town between them.

NPCs and inhabitants

Townsfolk

Within and near the tavern:

  • Myst
  • Daoist Bi Di
  • Purple-Robed Wolf Leader
  • Shopkeeper Niu
  • Leading Opera Actress
  • Fisherman

Other parts of town:

Foes and fights

Bosses

Fourteen boss forms belong to this map. Listed HP is the base figure, and it climbs on higher difficulties and during subsequent playthroughs.

You Loong and Flame. There is no need to sustain You Loong's water jet. Every fire-based move Flame has stops working while he is wet. Fighting You Loong in this spot does not count toward the Master of the Misty Waters trophy; that needs the later battle on Meigu Lake.

Zhu Yuan. The lakeside is the way to him. Enter Meigu Lake at the town's northern end, then follow the shoreline further north; an exploding enemy can destroy the barrier that blocks the lift.

Rematches. Foes do not come back after dying, so you cannot freely repeat boss battles. Only the Banyan Tree differs: its trial ends by pitting you again against Master Bi Yuan of the Tianxuan Sect. Any optional bosses you skipped can still be taken on in free roam after the campaign.

Boss Where Type Base HP Reward and notes
Blaze, Shadow Warden Captain Near South Gate Bridge Main 8,000, rising to 10,000 as Phosphor Consciousness Fire Meteor
Cavalrybane, Elite Shadow Warden Close to Pavilion of Knowledge Crossroads Main 10,000 Armybreaker; contributes to Three Wardens Fall
The Fallen General, Wu Xuan Beyond the bell at the Backstreet Archway Main 10,000 Wolfjaw
Gu Wanyue, the Wailing Wraith Close to the Pond of Fading Song Main 7,000 Fanatic's Fragment: Fixation
Xie Qiudong, the Divine Healer Near Green Serpent House Main 4,800 Everflow
Chang Hong, the Thunder Spear Near Ancestral Shrine Square Main 9,000, rising to 10,000 as the Thunder Lancer, on horseback Thunder Spear
You Loong, Leader of the Blackwater Crew Pond to the west, by the Banyan Tree Optional 9,000 You Loong's Deluge
Flame, the Mask-Bound Lion Dance Grandmaster Lion Dance Hall Depths Main 9,000, rising to 10,000 for the Final Dance Dormant Flaming Mane; trophy The Lion's Spirit Lives On
Acolyte Lei Ting Scarecrow beneath Old Man Gen's House Optional 9,000 Leiting's Thunder Mask, which is among four Acolyte masks
Soulclaimer, Elite Shadow Warden Courtyard next to the Dockside Warehouse Main 10,000 Parting Hooks; contributes to Three Wardens Fall
Zhu Yuan, the Searing Blade Foot of the Pangzhen Sha-Chi Tower Optional 9,000 Scorching Flames; needed for the True Ending; contributes to The Two Blade Masters

Enemies

Among the ordinary enemies in town are a few Maskwalkers with odd names, and the two puppet varieties used to be local musicians.

Maskwalkers:

  • Greatblade Madwoman
  • Ha-ha
  • Hee-hee
  • Hmph-hmph
  • Ho-ho

Puppets:

  • Puppet Zitherist
  • Songstress Puppet

Fighters for Perfect Transcension:

  • Faceless Swordsman Captain
  • Faceless Spearman Captain
  • Faceless Lancer
  • Heartless Healer
  • Baishan Scout
  • Baishan Twinblade Guardian
  • Baishan Sword Guardian
  • White-Robed Shadow Warden
  • Shadow Warden Musketeer
  • Blunderbuss Shadow Warden
  • Wildfire Shadow Warden
  • Fire Archer
  • Scarlet Swordsman
  • Purple-Robed Twinblade Swordsman
  • Purple-Robed Guard

Tasks, side stories and things to do

Where tales start

Tale Starts with What it asks Reward
The Sword and the Way Daoist Bi Di, beside the water inside the tavern Collect Bronze Essence from the furnace in the courtyard close to Green Serpent House, use it to temper the Tianxuan Bronze Sword, and go back Kuye Temple Sutra
The Undying Heroic Spirit Purple-Robed Wolf Leader, tavern Beat the Chief Disciple of the Seven-Stars Formation inside the Mandate Encampment and report, then collect four Memory Flowers belonging to the Mandate leaders, one of which lies in the slums Hero's Courage
The Star Performer Leading Opera Actress, tavern Burn her rouge over the incense in the alley next to Cavalrybane's arena, defeat whatever shows up to get the Tianxiang Pavilion Key, then return the fan taken from the third-floor dancer Dance Fan
The Cube Fisherman, tavern Discover what became of the pair travelling with him near Meigu Lake, retrieve the pieces, then inform him and speak with Myst Remnant Spark Cube
A Brother Once More Memory Flower in the bedroom upstairs at Huang Manor Question Shopkeeper Niu regarding Xiu's brother Jin, then beat Grief-Stricken Jin at Village of Lu Shallows Dock Rouge Box, Embroidered Shoes
Don't Forget Me On the inn's roof in town stands a woman who speaks of Senior Brother Zhou Trail Zhou Ping through the Mountain of Imprisonment, then reach Yuling by the Marketplace with the Illusory Pipa and give her his letter Ultimate Talisman
A Mother's Heart Memory Flower under the ladder by Back Hill Pavilion Turn the Backstreet Cellar Crank at Old Man Gen's House, empty out the cellar, and defeat the enemy waiting at the top Merciful Dew
Kin Against Kin Memory Flower on the bridge by Lion Dance Hall Search for a farmer, and for the younger sibling he got separated from

Tales that start elsewhere but cross the town

Name Details
Flesh Lily give Yu'er's father your leftover Flesh Lily in the building before Chang Hong's arena, and he hands over the Blessed Jade Pendant. You must give Yu'er the flowers ahead of the Bai Chilian fight, otherwise this is gone for good.
Four Fierce Axes on top of the Pavilion of Knowledge, the Child of Insight gives you the Blood Oath Dagger if you deliver the files on the cases from Weeping Creek Valley.
The Journey Home open Old Man Gen's House, pick the Dusty Old Wooden Comb off the body in there, and bring it to him to earn the Together Till the End trophy.
Young Master Lan pick up the Lan Manor Key at the crossroads, rest at a bell of your choice, then come back, defeat the enemies in front of the manor and enter. Doing so gives Crimson Resolve and the A Wanderer's Honor trophy.
Xue, Admirer of Heroes the Child of Insight examines the belongings collected in the Mandate Encampment, then hands you the Sha-Chi Headscarf.
Illusory Pipa Myst mends the instrument after you deliver its three components from the Village of Lu, Mandate Encampment and Meigu Lake.
Bai Xue make use of the Backstreet Courtyard Key brought from the Mountain of Imprisonment. See Collectibles for the specifics.
Dahuang this spot is where the Hunter's Dog Bell from the Village of Lu points you. Ride the backstreet zipline across, make for the leftmost yard, and examine the dog's body there.
Heart of the Banyan the Banyan Tree beyond You Loong's pond is among five, and finishing all five grants the Even Trees Know Sorrow trophy.

Vendors and amenities

Myst, who stays in the tavern, provides Soul Tempering and mends the Illusory Pipa.

Behind a door in Jingyang Hall, Lei Dang restores the Flaming Mane.

Medicines are improved by the Apprentice Healer at Green Serpent House, who takes Apprentice Healer's Memories and Skilled Healer's Memories as payment. A medicine restores more Sha-Chi, more HP and more damage negation with every upgrade.

Quick Hand Zhang's hideout offers the wares listed next, all costed in Remnant Dust.

Pickups and loot

Collectibles

Blackstone and Sha-Chi Amber Fragments

Courtyard of Bai Xue

You can lose this set for good. During the Ledger of Atonement tale, pick "This won't absolve you of your sins", because picking "Leave him alone" costs you the Bai Xue tale together with everything in this set. Once you have the key, walk over the bridge from the Green Serpent House bell, ascend the stairs, and open the left-hand door. Cross the rooftops until you reach a house with a person lying in bed, and present the Bloodstained Necklace to them. Behind you in the field is another Memory Flower, and Snow and Blood sits among the rocks where the tree meets the ground.

Blackstone and Sha-Chi Amber Fragments: Blackstone Fragments:

  • Straight on beyond the locked door that follows Abandoned Wine Cellar.
  • In the Marketplace building, fall through the hole on the top floor onto the balcony.
  • Chest located along the alley leading from the little courtyard beside Cavalrybane's arena.
  • Dropped by the enemies right before the Backstreet Rest bell.
  • Dropped by enemies in the furnace courtyard by Green Serpent House.
  • Dropped by the first enemies beyond the gate at Lion Dance Hall.

Blackstone and Sha-Chi Amber Fragments: Sha-Chi Amber Fragments:

  • Chest on a rooftop ledge, reached after Abandoned Wine Cellar.
  • Chest sitting at a balcony's far end, via the alleys leading from Pavilion of Knowledge Crossroads.
  • Chest inside a building that you enter by falling through its roof, along the path leading out of Myst's Tavern.
  • Resting on an altar amid the ruined buildings over Backstreet Rest.
  • Chest straight on at the zipline's end from Narrow Alley Residence.
  • At the far end of the upstairs balcony, in the building to the left of Green Serpent House.
  • Chest beneath a balcony up the stairs inside Lion Dance Hall.
  • On the upper floor of the building beside the Pangzhen Docks bell.

Weapons plus Phantom Edges

Item Type How to get it
Fire Meteor Phantom Edge Defeat Blaze
Armybreaker Main weapon Defeat Cavalrybane
Wolfjaw Phantom Edge Defeat Wu Xuan
You Loong's Deluge Phantom Edge Beat You Loong; extinguishes fire barriers
Thunder Spear Phantom Edge Defeat Chang Hong
Flaming Mane Phantom Edge Beat Flame and get Lei Dang to mend it; sets branches ablaze
Goldblaze Phantom Edge Hand all four treasures to Quick Hand Zhang
Parting Hooks Main weapon Defeat Soulclaimer

Treasures for Quick Hand Zhang

Treasure Where Needs
Tiger Paperweight Chest in the back room on Tianxiang Pavilion's second floor Tianxiang Pavilion Key
Ink Stick Little house at the puppet garden's far end, behind Wu Xuan's arena Beat Wu Xuan
Carved-Edge Inkstone Past the Narrow Alley Residence zipline, the building at the top of a few steps Nothing extra
Jade Brush Rest Chest on the roof beyond the Marketplace fire barrier You Loong's Deluge, plus a grapple

Medicines and accessories

Item Effect Where
Flameward Reduced Fire Damage, Burn builds up more slowly Chest on the balcony at South Gate Bridge
Crimson Resolve Extra damage for hits in a row Inside Lan Manor
Manor Medicine Pot Possible saving of a Medicine use Four fragments located in Huang Manor
Dance Fan The Star Performer reward
Congeal Talisman Slower Bleed buildup Far end of the alley beyond Backstreet Rest
Thunderward Reduced lightning damage, Paralysis builds up more slowly Green Serpent House's left-hand neighbour holds a chest
Blessed Jade Pendant A random effect triggers when Medicine is used Yu'er's father
Formless Divine Mirror Cheaper Ranged Phantom Edges By the Back Hill Pavilion bell
Sha-Chi Headscarf Faster Sha-Chi recovery Reward from Xue, Admirer of Heroes
Ultimate Talisman More Power Surge damage Don't Forget Me reward
Auspicious Lion Fireball Increased fire damage, and Burning spreads Beside a tree, once beyond the barrier that sits above The Sealed Lion
Remnant Spark Cube More Phantom Edge damage The Cube reward
Snow and Blood Extra damage if enemies nearby are bleeding Rocks where the tree meets the ground, around the Bai Xue courtyard
Everflow Heals HP and refills uses once enemies are beaten Defeat Xie Qiudong
Green Serpent Brew Clears status effects, boosts status resistance, heals HP Handed out inside Green Serpent House
Merciful Dew Gradually restores HP A Mother's Heart reward

Tempering materials

Material Tempers Where
Blood Oath Dagger Dread Axe Child of Insight, Four Fierce Axes
Dancer's Ribbon Soft Snake Sword Third storey of Tianxiang Pavilion, in the compact chamber to the left
Quick Hand's Manual Flying Dagger Zhang's shop, costing 50,000 Remnant Dust
Bronze Essence Tianxuan Bronze Sword Furnace inside the courtyard by Green Serpent House
Kuye Temple Sutra Kuye Temple Prayer Beads Daoist Bi Di, The Sword and the Way
Blazing Lion Head Flaming Mane Put out the fire in a recess of Lion Dance Hall
Thunder Core Thunder Spear Chest under a floor hole in Yuling's building

Keys and important items

Name Details
Lan Manor Key from Young Master Lan.
Pavilion of Knowledge Rooftop Key dropped by enemies as you climb the tower.
Huang Manor Key from Shopkeeper Niu.
Tianxiang Pavilion Key dropped by the enemies inside The Star Performer.
Heavy Lion Hall Gate Key after Chang Hong has been beaten, his arena's remaining foes drop it.
Backstreet Cellar Crank chest sitting on the timber platform under Back Hill Pavilion.
Backstreet Courtyard Key comes from completing the tale called Ledger of Atonement within the Mountain of Imprisonment.
Pangzhen Dyehouse Courtyard Key unlocks the courtyard belonging to the town's dyehouse.
Mandate Encampment Outer Gate Key next to the coffin under the well.
Crimson Flesh Lily just past Blaze's arena.
Serpent Gall Green: little room upstairs inside Green Serpent House.
Fanatic's Fragment Fixation: from Gu Wanyue.
Dusty Old Wooden Comb taken off the body inside Old Man Gen's House.
Shattered Hero's Courage dropped by the Purple-Robed Wolf Leader when the Seven-Stars battle ends.

Memory Flowers

Name Details
Marketplace inside the building facing the bell.
Huang Manor Crossroads dead ahead along the road.
Beyond the crossroads left of a stairway, once you have burned the branches en route to the Mirage Estate bell.
Cavalrybane's arena at the stairs' top, on the right-hand side.
Huang Manor in the upstairs bedroom.
On the far side of the Narrow Alley Residence zipline beside the Carved-Edge Inkstone.
Under Gu Wanyue's well a pair: the first at the bottom, the second beside the coffin.
Green Serpent House beyond the upper-floor window, atop the roofing at the bell's rear, and near the steps outside the left-side building.
Lion Dance Hall over on the bridge, plus next to the little pond within the hall.
Near Back Hill Pavilion below the ladder.
Old Man Gen's cellar dropped by whichever enemy stands at the ladder's top.
Pangzhen Slums given by the NPC at the bottom of the hill, provided you own the Shattered Hero's Courage.
The house of Bai Xue and the field beyond it two flowers, both missable.

Items to collect

Item Price Stock
Forged Metal, Twinned Metal, Broadplate Metal 1,040 24 each
Ancient Timber, Mechanical Gear, Darkfire Charcoal, Exotic Copper Ingot 1,040 24 each
Solvent 832 40
Incense Ash 832 24
Polished Forged Metal, Polished Twinned Metal, Polished Broadplate Metal 1,240 12 each
Concentrated Solvent 992 36
Camphor Timber, Precision Mechanical Gear, Blazing Darkfire Charcoal, Otherworldly Copper 1,240 6 each
Illusory Incense Ash 992 6
Tainted Crystal Shard 7,440 2
Refined Indigo Crystal 9,920 1
Apprentice Healer's Memory 7,440 2
Skilled Healer's Memory 9,920 2
Traversal Talisman, Phantom Reforge Talisman, Weapon Reforge Talisman 2,000 3 each
Quick Hand's Manual 50,000 1
The Banyan's Heart 100,000 1

Routes and movement

Entering and leaving

The straightforward entrance to the town no longer exists. In the Crimson Forest the bridge heading to Pangzhen falls apart, and the Smuggler's Tunnel under the Village of Lu was closed after the Herald quarrelled with his subordinate, Dusk. To get past, defeat Mu Xiaokui, open the Smuggler's Tunnel at the Puppet Testing Grounds, pick up the Tunnel Cage Key, release the imprisoned thief, and take the lift up to the Hidden Passage to Pangzhen.

Although the Pangzhen Sha-Chi Tower is part of Meigu Lake, you walk to it from those same docks. Rather than boarding, go east along the docks and the trail rises all the way up to the tower.

Three routes lead onward

Name Details
Mandate Encampment fast travel to its Outer Gate in the Village of Lu, then use the well's key.
Meigu Lake interact with the boat at Pangzhen Docks, which runs on Sha-Chi. Walking further across the docks does the same thing, so wait if you are unprepared.
Mirage Estate collect the Red Serpent Tongue, Black Serpent Fang and White Serpent Eye, then unlock the door in Green Serpent House's back.
Linked pages

Connected Entries

Nearby locations

Weeping Creek Valley · Crimson Forest · Village of Lu · Puppet Testing Grounds · Hidden Passage to Pangzhen · Hidden Storehouse · Abandoned Wine Cellar · South Gate Bridge · Jingyang Hall · Marketplace · Huang Manor · Pavilion of Knowledge · Myst’s Tavern · South Town Pond · Backstreet Archway · Zhang’s Hideout (Pangzhen) · Backstreet Rest · Narrow Alley Residence · Pond of Fading Song · Well of Wei Sanchuan · Green Serpent House · Lion Dance Hall · Ancestral Shrine Square · The Sealed Lion · Back Hill Pavilion · Pangzhen Slums · Old Man Gen’s House · Mandate Lodgings · Dockside Warehouse · Pangzhen Docks · Mandate Encampment · Mountain of Imprisonment · Meigu Lake · Village of Lu Shallows Dock · Pangzhen Sha-Chi Tower · Mirage Estate

Characters

Soul · Zuo Shang · Mu Xiaokui · Leng Tu · Yu'er · Old Man Gen · Quick Hand Zhang · Lan Shaodi · Lei Dang · Myst · Uncle Zhong · Chang Hong · The Flesh Sculptor · Xie Xiaorong · Flame · Bai Chilian · Patron Gao · Lu Jieyuan · Child of Insight · Dusk · Daoist Bi Di · Shopkeeper Niu · You Loong · Master Bi Yuan · Chen Zhu · Wei Sanchuan · Bai Xue · Blaze · Xie Qiudong · Gu Wanyue · Wu Xuan · Cavalrybane · Soulclaimer · Zhu Yuan · Acolyte Lei Ting · Grief-Stricken Jin · Old Beggar

Weapons

Tianxuan Bronze Sword · Armybreaker · Parting Hooks · Soft Snake Sword · Dread Axe · Wolfjaw · Flying Dagger · Goldblaze · Fire Meteor · Thunder Spear · Flaming Mane · You Loong's Deluge · Kuye Temple Prayer Beads

Quick answers

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the entrance to the Order's tavern below ground?

Enter the wine yard at the back of the tavern building and break the large black jar standing behind the pavilion on the right. A crank appears, and it opens the cellar.

Where can I find the Mandate Encampment Outer Gate Key?

Look in the well of Gu Wanyue's arena beside the Pond of Fading Song. A ladder leads on, and the following room has the item by a coffin, puppets all around.

Is Old Man Gen's House opened by the Backstreet Courtyard Key?

Not at all; that gate exists solely for the Bai Xue tale. Flaming Mane is what you need for the scarecrow, as well as Old Man Gen's House: set the branches beside the bell at Pond of Fading Song alight.

What is the route to Meigu Lake?

Set fire to the branches left of the stairs over Pavilion of Knowledge Crossroads, pass through Mandate Lodgings and the Dockside Warehouse, defeat Soulclaimer, then take the boat at Pangzhen Docks.

Where is medicine upgraded?

You will find it at Green Serpent House on the western side of the town, after Xie Qiudong has been defeated and you have followed the street to the building hung with green banners.

Does Pangzhen include Mirage Estate?

Not strictly. Mirage Estate occupies this map and feeds the same tracker, but it counts as a distinct endgame region, complete with an Archive section of its own. The only way inside is the door at the back of Green Serpent House.

Is it fine to skip things and return later?

Largely, yes: free roam after the credits lets you pick up everything that is not tagged as missable. Watch out for three exceptions, namely the two chats in the Village of Lu that precede your arrival, your reply in the Ledger of Atonement, and the True Ending checklist you need before Mirage Estate.