Under one person: I, Zhang Zhiwei, the arrogant Zhang.

Chapter 969 Chen Yulou arrives in Chongqing and meets with the Gelaohui (a secret society).
"Alright! Leave the task of dealing with those 'ground rakes' to me! Don't worry, Little Celestial Master, I, Fan Pengju, guarantee to cooperate fully. I'll provide manpower and resources as needed, and I won't shirk my responsibilities!"

Fan Pengju patted his chest and made a loud promise.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Brother Ha'er," Zhang Zhiwei said with a smile.

"Of course! Of course!" Fan Pengju said with a smile.

Looking at Fan Pengju, who was all smiles and looking sincere, Wang Ai thought to himself, "It really is Brother Zhang who has the most influence. He didn't even lift a finger; he just showed up and opened his mouth, and he won people over with his virtue, turning the biggest obstacle he had faced in the past few years into his greatest asset."

If I had known earlier that Senior Brother Zhang's influence was so powerful, I should have invited him to Chongqing a few years earlier to smooth things over with all those bigwigs and commanders...

After exchanging pleasantries, Liu Mang warmly offered to host a banquet to welcome Zhang Zhiwei.

Zhang Zhiwei did not refuse; he was not a detached, otherworldly Taoist ascetic.

At the banquet, he enjoyed authentic Chongqing-style street food, and chatted with Liu Mang and Fan Pengju over drinks for a long time, covering a wide range of topics in a very lively atmosphere.

…………

…………

On the other side, Chen Yulou's large ship sailed down the river and had reached the treacherous Kongling Shoal.

The current in this area is extremely turbulent, and the power of ordinary boats is simply insufficient. Even with the engines roaring themselves hoarse, the boats can only spin in circles.

If you're unlucky and encounter a powerful current that sways the ship off course and causes it to crash into a reef, then the ship will be destroyed and everyone on board will perish.

To cross these treacherous shoals, the only option is to have people pull you across.

As soon as Chen Yulou's boat arrived, he saw a large group of lean men waiting on the rocky beach on the shore. These were the boat trackers who made a living by pulling boats.

At that moment, a ship was navigating treacherous rapids ahead of them.

A group of boat trackers, their skin tanned dark and their ribs clearly visible, deftly looped a thick, long tow rope around their shoulders, securing the other end firmly to the mast base of the large ship.

The lead laborer took a deep breath and roared out a desolate yet high-pitched tune:
"Yo! Ho ho!!"

This single command was an order, and dozens of boatmen immediately responded:
"Hey yo! Hey yo!"

As soon as the shouts rang out, everyone gripped the ground with their toes, bent over, arched their backs, and their entire bodies were almost touching the ground as they began to pull forward with all their might!

The sun beat down fiercely, and steam rose from everyone's heads. The taut rope was stretched straight, digging deep into their flesh. From a distance, it looked like a group of ants dragging an elephant—a scene both tragic and awe-inspiring.

The large ship, meanwhile, was moving forward extremely slowly against the rushing river, inching forward little by little, each step requiring an immense amount of effort.

"No profession in this world is more arduous than that of a boatman!" Chen Yulou exclaimed.

“Everyone has their own hardships!” said the girl in red. “Our tomb raiding is no easier either, and in terms of danger, it is far greater than theirs.”

Chen Yulou nodded and turned to his bodyguard Kunlun Mole beside him: "Kunlun, let the brothers take a good look. We're about to cross this dangerous shoal. To get to Yucheng as soon as possible, brothers, please bear with us."

"Boss, you're joking. This is nothing to be ashamed of!" Kunlun Mole's voice boomed. "Brothers, if you put in your bare strength, you'll be faster than any machine!"

Chen Yulou said, "You've got it wrong. This job can't be done with just brute strength. You have to be in sync and follow the instructions of the worker. Listen carefully, you can hear the worker shouting."

Chen Yulou mimicked the tone of a laborer, shouting with intonation, "Step firmly! You in front, give it your all, straighten your back! Don't buckle..."

"The voice was sometimes urgent and sometimes slow, directing everyone when to exert force and when to take a breath. It united everyone's originally scattered strength into one."

Upon closer observation, everyone indeed saw that the boatmen moved in perfect unison, as if they were a single person struggling forward.

Kunlun Mole stopped calling it idiotic brute force and carefully observed the details until the large ship in front passed the beach safely. Only then did everyone turn their attention back to the beach and get to work. The large ship docked, and the unloading warriors disembarked, took out the tow ropes they had prepared beforehand, and firmly tied them to the base of the large ship.

They were adept at using ropes to descend into tombs, and once everything was ready, the large boat once again sailed into the middle of the river.

They took out talismans one by one, pasted them on their bodies, and then chanted incantations.

In an instant, their muscles bulged and their bodies visibly swelled up. Each of them had eyes like copper bells, broad faces and big mouths, just like the Yellow Turban Warriors who walked out of the murals in the temple!
This is precisely the signature skill of the Unloading Ridge lineage—the 'Strongman Talisman'! Even if an ordinary extraordinary person obtains Qi, it is extremely difficult for them to open mountains and unload ridges.

Why is it that only the Unloading Ridge Sect can do this? It's because of this talisman, a technique passed down from the ancestors of the Unloading Ridge lineage. Once used, it can transform one into an incredibly strong warrior, capable of opening mountains and unloading ridges.

As for the centipede-shaped mountain-hanging ladder and other such instruments, they are all auxiliary tools used to assist this method.

It is precisely because of this method of overwhelming force that the Xieling lineage is criticized by other schools for being barbaric and crude, and for not paying attention to their conduct. They disregard feng shui and things like lighting candles in the southeast corner, sticking on talismans, picking up tools, and just digging up a perfectly good tomb, turning it into a mess.

After using the talisman, the Unloading Ridge Warriors became incredibly strong, capable of lifting heavy cauldrons. Ordinary boatmen could not compare to them.

With their pull, the large ship moved even faster than before, and soon overtook the large ship in front.

The ordinary boatmen stared in disbelief as the more than three hundred unloading warriors, like little giants, dragged the large ship past them with incredible speed.

After the unloading warriors had been gone for a while, the boatmen who had been stunned by the shock finally came to their senses, and the crowd erupted in chaos.

"Damn it, did I just exert too much force and start hallucinating?"

"Where did they find so many burly men to pull the boat? With that size and strength, what the hell are they doing pulling the boat?"

"Have you noticed that those people don't look like people? They look like...like the kind of statues in temples and Taoist monasteries?"

"Wow, it really is! Could we have encountered a ghost? I've heard there are a lot of strange things happening in the Yangtze River."

"What nonsense are you spouting? What ghost could we have encountered in broad daylight?" the lead worker shouted. "We've probably run into a master. Pockmarked guy, go tell the employer that there's a master ahead. To avoid offending him, let's rest a bit longer before setting off!"

The skinny young man named Ma Zi answered the call and left, but returned a short while later, still indignant.

"Boss, the old folks on the ship say that the ships ahead are moving faster than airplanes, while we're crawling like turtles. We can't possibly ram them. Let us keep going!"

"Fine, fine! Damn it! Let's go! Let's set off!" The foreman cursed as he got up.

The boatmen pulled the boat at lightning speed, covering dozens of miles and passing several dangerous shoals. What would take ordinary boatmen several days to cover, they covered in just a few hours.

The unloading warriors let out a long breath, slumped on the deck, panting heavily, and haphazardly wiped their bodies with towels.

"I'm telling you, boss, this job is much more tiring than going down into the tomb!" said one of the tomb raiders.

“We’re still so tired even with talismans, I can’t imagine how ordinary people live,” Hua Maguai sighed. “Every profession has its hardships, and in this day and age, only a minority are not suffering,” Hong Guniang said, looking at the surging river ahead. “What I’m worried about now is how the Little Celestial Master and Liu Sangzi are doing in Yucheng. What if they haven’t reached an agreement and we rush over there rashly, only to fall into Liu Sangzi’s ambush?”

Chen Yulou, dressed in a white robe, stood at the bow of the ship. Sunglasses concealed the slight worry in his eyes, but his voice remained calm and steady as he said:
"The Little Celestial Master is a deity, and his word is law. He can definitely handle it. Even if he can't, he will give me a message. He shouldn't let me die in vain."

Chen Yulou is a person with great personal charm. Such people usually have a certain quality: they don't look back and worry about the future, they don't feel sorry for themselves, and they are afraid of this and that. Even if they are not sure in their hearts, they will appear confident in front of others.

As soon as he finished speaking, a fleet of boats appeared in front of him. They were all small boats, but they were full of people.

One of the small boats quickly approached downstream, and a burly man wearing a black headscarf leaped and nimbly jumped onto the deck of the large boat.

The unloading warriors on the ship were all on high alert, some drawing their guns and others their swords.

Chen Yulou waved his hand, stopping his men. He could tell that the other party was no ordinary river bandit.

The man in the black headscarf, however, was not afraid and said loudly, "Falcons fly in the sky, leopards run on the ground, what's going on?"

"Let's go to the city and make a fortune!" Chen Yulou replied calmly, clasping his hands in a fist salute.

"Hey, buddy, right on the cut!" said the man in the black headscarf.

“It’s the Gelaohui (a secret society), bring the chicken!” Chen Yulou rolled up his sleeves and said.

When Chen Yulou set off for Chongqing, he knew he would definitely encounter members of the Gelaohui (a secret society). As a bandit leader from thirteen provinces in the south and north, he was naturally familiar with the customs of each region.

Offering a rooster as a "gift" was a greeting custom of the Gelaohui (a secret society).

Seeing that the other party knew the rules, the man in the black turban softened his expression, took the rooster, stroked its head, and began reciting a rhyme:
"Touch the phoenix's head, and you and I, brothers, will be ennobled!"

Chen Yulou reached out and touched the chicken's body, saying, "Touch the phoenix's waist, and we brothers will ride horses and wield golden swords."

The man in the black turban touched the rooster's tail: "Touch the phoenix's tail, and you and I, brothers, will attain high positions."

Chen Yulou touched the chicken's feet: "Touch the phoenix's feet, and you and I, brothers, will be promoted and ennobled."

After reciting a rhyming verse, the man in the black turban put away the rooster, smiled, and asked, "Brother, did you come by land or by water?"

The people from the Unloading Ridge Sect behind them were speechless. What kind of question was that? They were on the river. Did you mean land or water?

Chen Yulou, however, did not mind the trouble and continued, "We will come by land or water."

"How many bends are there on the land route, and how many rapids are there on the waterway?" the man in the black turban continued to ask.

“The fog is so thick that the bay is nowhere to be seen, and the vast waters are so deep that the beach is nowhere to be seen!” Chen Yulou replied.

"What is the proof?"

“We have proof!” Chen Yulou said.

"Show your brother the certificate!"

"Brother, you have bestowed upon me the Hong family certificate, which I will remember well. If you wish to see the certificate, you can do so with any of your peers."

……

……

The man in the black turban asked a lot of questions back and forth, and Chen Yulou answered them patiently.

This is actually a code word used by the Gelaohui (a secret society). If you can't say it, they'll extort money from you. If you can say it, you're one of their own, a brother, and you won't be targeted. Instead, you'll be treated to good food and drink.

After the entire exchange of incisions was completed, the man in the black turban finally bowed, his tone becoming respectful: "So you're Brother Chen from the Lizi Banner of Western Hunan! My apologies for not recognizing you!"

The Pao Ge Society was a super-large gang, popular not only in the Sichuan and Chongqing areas but also in the Hubei and Hunan areas.

The martial arts world is not just about fighting and killing; it's about human relationships and social interactions. Besides being the leader of Changsheng Mountain, Chen Yulou also had connections in other places, such as the Gelaohui (a secret society) in western Hunan.

The Gelaohui (袍哥会) in western Hunan grew during the Taiping Rebellion, reaching a scale of tens of thousands, and responded to the Taiping army's anti-Qing war, but ultimately failed.

However, this name has been passed down, and to this day, Chen Yulou still has a name associated with this place.

The Gelaohui (袍哥) would talk about "benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness." The "benevolence" flag represented people with status and position, the "righteousness" flag represented wealthy people, the "propriety" flag represented soldiers, police, and bandits, the "wisdom" flag represented rickshaw pullers and boatmen, and the "trustworthiness" flag represented hooligans and beggars.

Chen Yulou was a bandit and a local thief, so naturally he was placed under the banner of propriety.

Once they confirmed that the people were on their side, the previous tension vanished instantly.

Chen Yulou returned the greeting with a cupped hand: "Brother, we are all from the Gelaohui (Brotherhood of Brothers), and all Gelaohui members under heaven are one family!"

"Yes, we're all family, hahaha..." The man in the black turban laughed loudly, then waved to the distance, and the small boats made way for him.

"My name is Hunjianglong. I wonder what brings Brother Chen to Chongqing?" the man with the black turban asked.

These days, people believe that a humble name is easier to raise. Many people don't have a proper name. After they make a name for themselves, they either choose a new one or use their nickname as their name. Clearly, this person is the latter.

"Brother, I've been invited by the Little Celestial Master of Longhu Mountain to come to Chongqing to help build air-raid shelters!"

Chen Yulou said that there was no point in hiding such a thing.

"So it's Chief Chen from Changsheng Mountain! I never imagined he was from one of our secret societies!" Hunjianglong exclaimed in surprise.

“We’re all one family, right?” Chen Yulou said.

"Chen, come with me. Our leader has been waiting for a long time," said Hunjianglong.

"Why is the head of the dragon boat waiting for me?" Chen Yulou asked, somewhat surprised. He hadn't notified anyone about the head of the dragon boat when he came here.

"Why?" Hunjianglong said, "Chief Chen is building an air-raid shelter for the Little Celestial Master, and our Dragon Head Steward is also building an air-raid shelter for the Little Celestial Master. We're both working for the Little Celestial Master, so we definitely have to cooperate. Our Steward and the Little Celestial Master are preparing a banquet and are just waiting for Chief Chen to arrive."

So it was Little Celestial Master… Chen Yulou was greatly surprised. He then realized that the leader of the Gelaohui (a secret society) had close ties with Liu Mang, the King of Sichuan and Chongqing. The two were one in the underworld and one in the legitimate world. If Little Celestial Master had taken care of the leader, then he must have also taken care of Liu Mang.

Just moments ago, they were worried about whether the young Taoist priest could handle Liu Mang. Little did they expect that he'd even won over the head of the local gang—he's got connections in both the legitimate and underworld circles!
"In that case, please lead the way, Brother Hun!" Chen Yulou said calmly, suppressing the turmoil in his heart.

(End of this chapter)