RenHeng

RenHeng is the slash ship between Blade and Dan Heng from the Honkai: Star Rail fandom.

Canon
Blade and Dan Heng have a shared history, having a deeper relationship that started with a strong friendship and ended up being enemies with several misunderstandings. Dan Heng is a Vidyadhara dragon in his human form, an immortal species of Xianzhou Luofu who goes by the name Dan Feng, titled "Yinyue Jun", the High Elder of Vidyadhara in his past life, who reincarnates as Dan Heng with no memories of his past incarnation.

Blade, who was known as Yingxing in his past life, was a short-life species who came to Luofu as a young man to study craftsmanship and later became "The Furnace Master". Both were part of a group called the "High-Cloud Quintet," including Jing Yuan, the current general of Luofu; Baiheng, a Foxian; and Jingliu, the sword master, who fought together against the abundance.

They both had a deeper connection in the past and have been hinted to have spent time together via descriptions of in-game materials—such as the relic set "Passerby of Wandering Cloud". There is no confirmation so far on how they became close, but they undoubtedly were the closest among the five in the High-Cloud Quintet.

Unfortunately, due to a certain crime they both committed together, resulting in Blade turning into an immortal, which led to his transformation into a monster, their relationship came to an end. As per the in-game material named "Verdict: The Great Rebellion of Imbibitor Lunae," the crimes committed by Imbibitor Lunae (Yinyue Jun) include thieving immortality and inciting a riot.

In the Sedition of Imbibitor Lunae, which was an act of rebellion against the Xianzhou Luofu, Dan Feng was captured and punished in the shackling prison. While this was the second crime that he committed, the foremost crime he was involved in was giving a short-life species 'immortality' which was the crime he committed along with Yingxing.

The reason as to why Blade is chasing after Dan Heng is still not revealed officially, but it's purely a misunderstanding as neither of them have memories of their past lives. However, from the 'Passerby's Roaming Dragon Bracer' relic set lore,

"Pairs of objects are destined for an eventual reunion. The long years of grudges and hatred between them should be savored, like ice-cold aged liquor, one slow sip after another until the bottle of resentment is finally empty."

It's very clear that this is just the start of a new journey, and there is more to come for their reconciliation and starting everything all over again.

History
The relic set Passerby of Wandering Cloud explains bits of Blade's past with his former friend, who is described to have strong, slender hands and wield a spear, indicating that this friend is Dan Feng. In the past, the two used to spar, share drinks, and gaze at the moon together. However, this friend stubbornly adhered to their plans, causing a "beloved" to become a monstrosity and for everyone to fall into an abyss of remorse. Blade and Dan Heng share a pair of bracers that have a telepathic connection. Once, Blade tried using the connection to sense Dan Heng and thought about how his resentment toward Dan Heng wouldn't last forever. "Pairs of objects are destined for an eventual reunion. The long years of grudges and hatred between them should be savored, like ice-cold aged liquor, one slow sip after another until the bottle of resentment is finally empty.

Would the wearer of the other bracer feel the same? The unnamed didn't want to know."

- Passerby's Roaming Dragon Bracer description

Before joining the Astral Express, Dan Heng evaded Blade by hopping on multiple IPC ships. Blade, in turn, would destroy spaceships in pursuit of him. In every encounter, Dan Heng insisted that he was a new person who had nothing to do with Blade's past. As described in the "Nowhere to Run" Light Cone, Dan Heng would run his spear through Blade each time they fought. This never killed him due to Blade's self-healing ability. "But he still can't shake off the man with the beastly eyes.

If others in his homeworld felt hatred toward him, then that man only has a killing intent toward him — even the spaceships he had traveled on were all annihilated. That man had died before him, but would reappear soon after."

- Dan Heng Character Story Part II

Xianzhou Luofu
In the beginning of the Xianzhou Luofu storyline, Dan Heng has a nightmare. Blade, captured by Jing Yuan, claims that of five people, three must pay the price. In the nightmare, Blade then points his sword at Dan Heng with a smile, telling him that he is one of the three. Dan Heng wakes up with a start and misses the Astral Express's Navigation Meeting as he recovers from his shock. He is not present when a Stellaron Hunter, Kafka, interrupts the meeting. She requests the Astral Express crew to clear up the Stellaron in Xianzhou, mentioning that her companion Blade is in danger.

Dan Heng stays behind on the Express while the Trailblazer, March, and Welt go to the Xianzhou Luofu. He asks Himeko to play him the transmission of their conversation with Kafka. Dan Heng pauses at the moment Kafka projects an image of Blade. In distress, he proclaims that the Xianzhou is in danger. Himeko is able to infer that Blade is connected to the past he wants to escape, and Dan Heng is afraid that his burden has caught up to him and will drag down his friends. Himeko comforts him and encourages him to go down there.

On the Xianzhou Luofu, Dan Heng meets Sushang and Luocha and joins them to travel to the safe zone. On the way, they come across a puppet of Xueyi, who is severely injured. After Luocha heals her, Xueyi advises Luocha and Dan Heng to leave as soon as possible, as the Stellaron Hunter she was arresting is extremely dangerous. Xueyi's description of the Stellaron Hunter, someone with exceptional swordsmanship who wields a divine sword, alarms Dan Heng, who knows she is referring to Blade.

Once departing from Sushang and Luocha, Dan Heng comes face-to-face with Blade and Kafka. Blade laughs, ready to have Dan Heng pay the price. Dan Heng reiterates that he is not Dan Feng. Blade says that a different name and face won't blot out his sins, declaring that he will know the pain of death. This indicates that Blade either doesn't think Dan Feng is already dead or that he is holding Dan Heng responsible for his past reincarnation's sins regardless. Yanqing also arrives to arrest Blade.

Blade moves to attack Dan Heng from behind, goading him to reveal his "true self." Although Yanqing tries to stop Blade, he throws his sword to stab Dan Heng. Dan Heng starts floating in the air, transforming. Blade reveals that Dan Heng is the traitor of Xianzhou, Imbibitor Lunae. Yanqing decides that he will detain both of them, causing Blade and Dan Heng to have to fight the kid. Kafka uses her manipulation powers to end the fight as Jing Yuan is about to arrive. Now that his task is complete, Blade and Kafka depart.

When interacting with one of the Vidyadhara Mirage Echoes in Scalegorge Waterscape, it plays a conversation between Dan Feng and someone named Yingxing. Yingxing mentions how if Dan Feng's people knew he had brought him here, there would be great unrest, to which Dan Feng replies that Yingxing has two hours to conduct research of some kind. Yingxing mentions how he is a short-life species and asks if two hours is not enough and how the task will be done, to which Dan Feng just responds with a "hmph." Suspiciously, it seems that Yingxing has Blade's voice actor in all languages.

Miscellany
The in-game Vidyadhara elegy known as "Eternal Regrets of a High Elder" from the readable Cloudcry Songbook is strongly insinuated to explicitly be about the sin that Yingxing and Dan Feng committed together and its consequences: When the dragon turns red, then the green pines shall shed.

Blown by the wind of a cold morning,

Feeling the weight of your suffering.

When the dragon turns red, then the green pines shall shed.

Spinning our glory through time and space,

When will I next come to see your face?

When the dragon turns red, then the green pines shall shed.

Wantonly drinking the silver moon,

How many times must we be entombed?

When the dragon turns red, then the green pines shall shed.

Pass like a dream out of sight and mind, six hundred years in this mortal bind. As this is stated to be a Vidyadhara elegy, "Echoes of Antiquity: A Grand Overview of Xianzhou Folk Culture" states that the subject matter of most Vidyadhara elegies deals with great tragedies, especially those revolved around pyrrhic victories and loves lost. Given the implied romantic nature of Yingxing and Dan Feng's relationship, it could be speculated that "Eternal Regrets of the High Elder" may concern Yingxing, Dan Feng, and the animosity as well as lost love their relationship spiraled into.

During Gamescon 2022, the game released a trailer called "Nightmare", which shows Dan Heng's nightmare of Blade from the beginning of the Xianzhou Luofu storyline.

In Blade's Character Trailer, "Death Approaches", Blade is shown to be having a flashback of his past life as Yingxing as well as having a vision of Dan Feng (previous Imbibitor Lunae). He then snaps back to reality and finds an imaginary spear being impaled into his heart, with an illusion of Dan Heng holding the spear. Blade then laughs manically and breaks the spear, taking it out of his chest and engaging in battle with the illusion of Dan Heng. Blade states that until Dan Heng's sin is cleansed, his vengeance will pursue him.

In the 1.4 livestream, the graphic showcasing Jingliu's companion quest showed artwork of the High-Cloud Quintet, highlighting Dan Feng wearing the matching bracer that Yingxing was revealed to wear in Dan Heng's animated short, Ichor of Two Dragons. Additionally, it also showed a flashback to the five of them cheering over drinks, showing a glimpse of Yingxing's half of the two bracers.

Quotes
"This isn't the first time he's seen this man. This man had become his own inseparable shadow. No matter how many times he runs this man through with his spear, the man always comes back.

He can neither lose to this man, nor truly win. Though he wants to run away, there is nowhere to run."

- Nowhere to Run Light Cone description

"Imbibitor Lunae... When will our retribution come? How can our debt be repaid?"

- Blade, "About Dan Heng" voiceline

"He had no dragon horns, and his reaction was slightly less mature than he remembered... But he would never forget this spear, these eyes, and how cruelty burst out from beneath the mirror-like emerald calmness."

- Blade about Dan Heng, Blade Character Story Part II

"What he seeks I am unable to provide."

- Dan Heng • Imbibitor Lunae, "About Blade" voiceline

"Apparently they used to be good friends…Well, good friends who were bad for each other. Bladie forgot nearly everything, so he doesn’t remember it well. Together, they did something bad - something terrible. It lead to horrific consequences. That’s the information I managed to piece together. Bladie refused to tell me the details."

- Kafka, Letter From a Strange Woman

Behind the Scenes
"Surprisingly, he doesn't seem to be very interested in other people around him, but there is a person named "Dan Heng" to whom he seems to have very strong negative feelings."

- Shin-ichiro Miki (Blade's JP VA), translated

"Lovers. Lovers."

- CyYu/Alejandro Saab (Jing Yuan's EN VA) about Blade and Dan Heng

Fanon
RenHeng is one of Star Rail's most popular slash ships. It already has appeal for its enemies-to-lovers potential, which is made deeper once fans look into the significant lore connections the two have. RenHeng is especially popular in the Chinese side of the fandom.

Before the release of Version 1.2, Dan Heng wasn't yet revealed to be a Vidyadhara, though many fans, including RenHeng shippers, already knew this due to leaks. Since knowing this, it has been a widely accepted theory that Dan Feng is the one responsible for making Blade immortal and that this was the sin that got him banished. Dialogue from the Final Closed Beta states that the "Dragon King" (likely an early translation of "High Elder") has the power to "breath life" into living beings. Additionally, Blade hates his immortality, which could be why he is determined to make Dan Heng pay for his sins.

There has been some debate about who the "beloved" (CN: 挚爱) mentioned in "Passerby's Roaming Dragon Bracer" is (full quote: "it was also this person [Dan Feng] who stubbornly adhered to their plans with the unnamed, turned the beloved into a monstrosity, and pushed all into an abyss of eternal hatred and remorse"). Many speculate it to be either Blade, Jingliu, or Baiheng, as both Blade and Jingliu are mara-struck while Baiheng’s ultimate fate is largely unknown. This term is used again in Blade's second character story, in which he claims that the one who buried the "beloved" is Dan Heng. Based on this, plus the assumption that Dan Feng is the one who made Blade mara-struck, the presumed takeaway here is that Dan Feng considered Blade his "beloved", something that RenHeng fans are excited at the possibility of.

Due to Dan Heng being a reincarnation of Dan Feng—and Blade considering himself a separate identity from Yingxing—a lot of shippers enjoy the trope of them finding each other in every lifetime. A lot of fans find it amusing how, despite Dan Heng wanting nothing to do with his past self, he still carries items that are associated with Blade (Yingxing) on him, such as the bracer, Cloud Piercer, and his jade pendant. Their dynamic has also been compared to a lot of Danmei media, as well as having a lot of common tropes such as "slow burn" or misunderstandings. It is implied that Blade is not aware of Dan Feng having perished, as he mentions to Dan Heng how he has not "experienced death". Fans are eager to find out Blade's reaction to this news, as well as what their dynamic will be going forward. Additionally, Blade being a Stellaron Hunter and Dan Heng being on the Astral Express does not restrict them to one planet, so fans are eagerly waiting for more interactions between the two.

RenHeng currently has 1700+ works on AO3, being the most written ship in the Honkai: Star Rail tag. Their biggest rival ships are JingRen and DanCae.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

TWITTER

Trivia

 * The "Ren" part of their ship name comes from Blade's name in Chinese, 刃 (rèn)
 * The official Honkai: Star Rail Twitter featured the two in a promotional tweet.
 * On the official launch trailer, Dan Heng stands in a pool of water, which shows the reflection of Blade.
 * Both were featured alongside other male characters in the Japanese magazine Anan. In an interview portion, Dan Heng is asked why he doesn't talk more. Dan Heng replies, "Compared to someone else also participating in this project, I talked much more." This is clearly referring to Blade, who stays silent for the entirety of his interview.
 * In the end of the Version 1.2 Special Program, Blade's VA said, "Not to mention, it seems like him [Blade] and Dan Heng are finally about to meet. Something tells me they're not gonna settle things over a cup of tea."
 * In the Chinese version of the same stream, Blade's CN VA said, "And he [Blade] and Dan Heng finally meet. I'm looking forward to what kind of sparks will ignite between them" ("而且呢他和丹恒终于见面了. 很期待他们会擦出什么样的火花").
 * The phrase for "sparks ignite" (擦出火花) is often used to describe romantic chemistry.
 * On Weibo, Hoyoverse sponsored several big users to post about the game. Many of these sponsored posts are RenHeng memes.
 * A fun controversy among shippers is that, in the Chinese original version (both Simplified and Traditional) of Passersby's Roaming Dragon Bracer, a "typo" was found. Instead of meaning a ceremony of exchanging cups to signify a close friendship, the "typo" refers instead to an engagement ceremony . Though unconfirmed, many shippers enjoy the notion that RenHeng might've been married in their past lives. Additionally, this "typo" is still in the game as of Version 1.4, leaving many to believe it may have been intentional from the start.
 * Through some analysis on Blade's trailer, fans have noticed several things:
 * From 1:17 to 1:40, the instrument that plays is the suona. This instrument is most commonly used in weddings and funerals. Interestingly enough, it plays through the duration where Blade and the illusion of Dan Heng fight. According to shippers, both interpretations of the instrument choice are appropriate; Blade's entire trailer revolves around wishing for death, and the concept of "ghost marriage," which occurs when one or both members of the couple are dead fits with the death and rebirth motifs for the two characters.
 * Chinese fans have pointed out that according to the traditional Chinese calendar, the day that Blade's trailer was released (July 14th) was an auspicious day for a funeral or a wedding. An auspicious day is choosing a lucky day for big events in life.
 * Yingxing (Blade) is associated with a light motif and Dan Feng (Dan Heng) is associated with a dark motif.
 * At 1:29, a split second frame shows Dan Feng with a spider lily painted in a green tint and then Dan Heng with a spider lily painted in a red tint.
 * Dan Heng made around a 40-second appearance in Blade's one-minute and 55-second trailer, when the only other character to make such a prominent appearance in someone else's trailer is Bronya in Seele's trailer.
 * Blade's oddly specific bounty number of 8.13 billion has a number of different meanings. For one, the year 813 in the Chinese calendar is given the element of water and is the year of the dragon. Dan Heng is a Vidyadhara with water abilities. Other themes include forgiveness and soulmate reunions.
 * Blade and Dan Heng are the only two characters to have a phrase that repeats at the beginning of each of their character stories, Blade's being "He must have died" and Dan Heng's being "A new dawn begins".
 * Blade was the one who crafted Dan Heng's spear, Cloud Piercer. Fans find it sadly ironic that Dan Heng used the weapon Blade crafted to kill him over and over again.
 * The two have matching jade pendants in their designs. Fans noticed that when laid on top of each other, they slot perfectly and form a complete shape. Interestingly, there is a Vidyadhara egg in Scalegorge Waterscape that, when interacted with, comes with a text box mentioning how some Vidyadharas secretly put a jade pendant in their mouths so that they and their lovers can recognize each other in the next life.
 * The RenHeng tag on Lofter has around 7.5 million views with over 18,000 participations, edging out the overall Honkai: Star Rail tag with around 6 million views.
 * When talked to as an NPC during Todd Riordan's World Quest, Blade will ask, "That guy, was he happy?" Even though it is not explicitly stated who he was talking about, a lot of fans like to think he was talking about Dan Heng, as Blade was not present to meet Todd and was mentioned to have been gazing at the Imbibitor Lunae statue from afar.
 * In Dan Heng's Character Story II, it mentions how he changed his appearance and can no longer be recognized but cannot escape from Blade's beastly eyes. In Blade's Character Story II, it mentions how even though Dan Heng may have changed his appearance, he would never forget Dan Heng's spear and his eyes, making a nice parallel between the two stories.
 * In the Samudrartha EP, which is known to be a song about Dan Heng • Imbibitor Lunae, Blade had a noticeable amount of screen time compared to other characters aside from Dan Heng himself. Scenes shown include the Nightmare cutscene, the RenHeng scene in the Interstellar Journey trailer, as well as their fight against Yanqing.
 * Blade was asked a total of four questions in his character introduction, but he only joins the conversation when Dan Heng is mentioned, with Silver Wolf answering the previous questions for him.
 * Dan Heng and Blade have both shared the same element, type, and class, if at different points. As a 4* character, Dan Heng had the Wind Type and Hunt Path. Blade has the Wind Type and Destruction Path; as of 1.2, it's been confirmed that Dan Heng's 5* version is of the Imaginary Type and Destruction Path, making Wind and Destruction two things they've had in common thus far.

Notes and References
