Yu Hualong enters The Story of Yue Fei as the third chief of Kanglang Mountain, an opponent with both a spear and a pouch of golden darts. He fights Yue Fei through repeated mounted exchanges, then tries to turn the contest with his thrown weapons. Yue Fei avoids the first darts, catches another, and finally returns one with enough precision to sever the bell beneath Yu Hualong’s horse. The startled animal throws its rider, but Yue Fei raises him from the ground instead of humiliating him.
That mixture of superiority and courtesy wins the outlaw more completely than force. Yu Hualong kneels, submits, and accepts Yue Fei’s offer of sworn brotherhood. He thereafter becomes a dependable Yue-army commander. At Sishui Pass he fights Zhang Conglong for twenty bouts before feigning retreat and killing him with a golden dart; during the crisis at Zhuxian Town, Yue Fei trusts him with five thousand troops as one of the separate relief columns. These scenes establish him as a seasoned supporting general whose concealed missiles complement his cavalry spear.
His loyalty outlives his commander. After Yue Fei, Yue Yun, and Zhang Xian are murdered, Yu Hualong joins the old officers marching on Lin’an for revenge. On the Yangzi, Yue Fei’s spirit rises above the water and repeatedly forbids them to cross, preserving the loyal name for which he died. Yu Hualong cannot accept either retreat or disobedience. Crying that he has no face to live if he cannot avenge his sworn elder brother, he draws his sword and kills himself. The ending turns his original surrender into the central bond of his life.
