Fish-Dragon Gang
Reborn in Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils: A Sword Drawn in Gusu!
Biodata
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Name | Fish-Dragon Gang |
| Original Name | 鱼龙帮 |
| Organization Type | Local jianghu gang; one of South Canal’s original four gangs 20. |
| Founding Figures | “Water-Parting Ape” Jin Gaozong, “Burrowing Loach” Wu Lu, and “Pretty Spider” Fu Rong 9. |
| Leader | Li Yu, succeeding the departed Gao Jingzong, known within the gang as Jin Gaozong 4 8 9. |
| Deputy Leader | Fu Rong; retained in office with authority over all gang affairs under Li Yu 9. |
| Area of Operations | Black Earth Town and Black Sand Wharf on Lake Tai’s eastern shore, in the South Canal region near Gusu 6 8 20. |
| Status | Reorganized and renamed the Divine Dragon Cult, incorporating the defeated Black Flood Dragon Gang and forces from Lake Tai’s Seventy-Two Peaks 24. |
| First Appearance | Named and its leadership token introduced in Chapter 4; its surviving base is reached in Chapter 8 4 8. |
History
Establishment and Control of Black Sand Wharf
Over five or six years, Jin Gaozong, Wu Lu, and Fu Rong built the Fish-Dragon Gang from nothing and secured Black Sand Wharf. It became one of South Canal’s four established gangs and repeatedly kept its longstanding rival, the Black Flood Dragon Gang, subordinate 9 20 21.
While controlling the wharf, the gang took half the fishermen’s catch. Fishermen later recalled this arrangement when protesting the harsher terms imposed by its replacement 8.
Betrayal and Collapse
Two months before Li Yu’s arrival, Gao Jingzong disappeared with the gang’s gold, silver, and valuables. The resulting panic gave the Black Flood Dragon Gang an opportunity to launch a devastating surprise attack, seize its territory, and kill its experts. Wu Lu was cut in half by Zhang Biao’s saber during the defeat 8 9.
Fu Rong kept the remnants together in a secluded woodland refuge. Many survivors stayed out of gratitude for her efforts. Outsiders were told that the former leader had disappeared and might have been murdered; Fu Rong privately believed he had fled 8 9.
Zhang Hengye later revealed that a mysterious man in black had alerted him to the Fish-Dragon Gang’s internal upheaval by letter, prompting his attack 24.
Li Yu’s Succession
Gao Jingzong handed Li Yu the gang leader’s token while transferring responsibility for local affairs. Expecting an established organization, Li Yu instead found that its territory had already been lost. He and Qin Xiu initially mistook the Black Flood Dragon Gang’s men for Fish-Dragon members, discovering the truth only after rescuing Fu Rong at Black Sand Wharf 4 6 7.
Li Yu killed Zhang Biao with one sword thrust and publicly declared himself the Fish-Dragon Gang’s new leader. At the hidden base, Fu Rong asked him to make that declaration genuine. After hearing about Gao’s flight, Li Yu accepted without revealing the token connecting him to the former leader 8.
The survivors accepted Li Yu after Fu Rong produced Zhang Biao’s Black Slaughter Great Saber as proof of his victory. His first order retained her as deputy leader with authority over all affairs, and he rallied the members to rebuild 9.
Flower-Honoring Banquet
Unable to locate the survivors, Zhang Hengye announced a public martial contest at the Flower-Honoring Banquet. Refusing the challenge would damage the Fish-Dragon Gang’s reputation and undermine its remaining foothold on Lake Tai’s eastern shore 12.
Recognizing the invitation as a trap, Li Yu sought allies among the Seventy-Two Peaks. He visited Lin Mang on White Sand Island, though their meeting ended without an explicit agreement to fight together 13 16 17.
At the banquet, Zhang Hengye displayed a camellia associated with Mantuo Manor to intimidate the assembled gangs. He then had the Fish-Dragon Gang’s plaque brought forward for destruction. Li Yu intervened before Zhu Tuo could strike it and challenged Zhang Hengye 21 22.
Fu Rong and Lin Mang subsequently led the Fish-Dragon survivors and Seventy-Two Peaks fighters into the manor. Their arrival broke the Black Flood Dragon Gang’s remaining morale. Zhang Hengye conceded defeat, and nearly a hundred surviving members surrendered to Li Yu 24.
Formation of the Divine Dragon Cult
Following the victory, Li Yu renamed the organization the Divine Dragon Cult. Fu Rong became its Fish-Dragon Envoy, commanding both the former Fish-Dragon and Black Flood Dragon members. Lin Mang became White Dragon Envoy, with Tao Zongwang as his deputy, retaining their island-based forces 24.
Old Kuai explained the change in scale succinctly: the Fish-Dragon Gang had been too small to contain the Seventy-Two Peaks of Lake Tai 24.
Organization and Strength
| Position / Group | Function or Condition |
|---|---|
| Gang Leader | Li Yu supplied the martial strength and public reputation needed to restore the gang’s standing 8 9. |
| Deputy Gang Leader | Fu Rong maintained the survivors before Li Yu’s arrival and continued administering all gang affairs afterward 9. |
| Surviving Membership | Roughly thirty members remained during Li Yu’s leadership; thirty participated in the final confrontation at the banquet 9 24. |
| Combat Limitations | The gang had lost its experts and could not safely confront the Black Flood Dragon Gang’s hundred-plus fighters without outside help 8 13. |
| Allied Reinforcements | Fu Rong and Lin Mang brought an assault force described as two hundred men drawn from the gang and the Seventy-Two Peaks 24. |
Territory and Headquarters
- Black Earth Town — The gang’s established locality on Lake Tai’s eastern shore; occupied by the Black Flood Dragon Gang after the surprise attack 6 13.
- Black Sand Wharf — Its principal documented territorial asset before the collapse, serving fishermen and merchants trading the lake’s catch 6 8 9.
- Secret woodland base — Located fifteen or sixteen li northeast of Black Earth Town, behind a screen-shaped slope. Five or six thatched huts stood beneath dense forest cover, protected by sheer cliffs and a single narrow approach 8.
- Fish-Dragon Hall — The refuge’s meeting hall, containing the leader’s tiger-skin seat and the plaque reading “Fish Transform into Dragons” 8 9.
Symbols and Items
- Fish-Dragon Token — A heavy, unadorned black-iron leadership token engraved with the words “Fish-Dragon Token.” Gao Jingzong passed it to Li Yu, who chose not to present it to the survivors 4 5 8.
- “Fish Transform into Dragons” plaque — Written by Jin Gaozong and displayed in the meeting hall. Li Yu invoked its message when promising to help Fu Rong pursue her seemingly impossible revenge against Deng Baichuan 8 9.
- Gang-name plaque — A separate plaque bearing “Fish-Dragon Gang,” brought out at the banquet for public destruction as a means of humiliating the organization 20 21.
- Black Slaughter Great Saber — Zhang Biao’s captured weapon, used to establish Li Yu’s victory before the skeptical survivors and then entrusted to Fu Rong 9.
Relationships
- Black Flood Dragon Gang — Longstanding mortal enemy; seized the gang’s territory after Gao’s departure, then surrendered to Li Yu at the banquet 7 8 24.
- Seventy-Two Peaks of Lake Tai — Fishing communities with whom the remnants conducted limited private trade. Their fighters ultimately joined the gang against their shared enemy and entered the Divine Dragon Cult 13 24.
- Qin Xiu — Helped Li Yu rescue Fu Rong and stayed at the hidden base while recovering from her injuries; left before the banquet 7 8 13.
- Deng Baichuan — Fu Rong’s personal revenge target. Li Yu pledged to help her destroy Azure Cloud Manor rather than require her to abandon the gang 9.
- Mantuo Manor — Its apparent backing strengthened the Black Flood Dragon Gang’s position at the banquet. Qin Xiu’s earlier accusation that the Fish-Dragon Gang was its ally resulted from mistaking the two gangs 6 7 21.
Notable Quotes
“Grow bigger and stronger, and forge glory anew!”
— Li Yu’s rallying call, repeated by the gang members 9.
“Our longsword still stands! Who says the Fish-Dragon Gang has no one left?”
— Li Yu, intervening before the gang’s plaque could be destroyed 21.