The Lunar New Year was supposed to be a joyous and lively occasion.
However, it was a depressing scene on Dragon Tiger Mountain.
All the heavenly masters look frustrated and glum.
“What the hell? It’s number one again yesterday? 180 million at the box office!”
“This… this is illogical! How did that movie become so popular? Why Is it so popular? Is that movie even watchable?”
Their faces were scrunched up. No matter how hard they racked their brains, they could not understand how things had turned out like that.
When the movie was first announced, they had laughed at it. They were even laughing in their dreams.
They were surprised by the first trailer, but they continued laughing at it anyway.
They were still laughing when the second trailer was released…
As they had their reunion dinner on New Year’s Eve, they were using the movie as a joke.
However, on the next day, they could no longer laugh.
That was because the movie had suddenly become popular, and it had received overwhelmingly positive reviews online. The box office earnings shot up like a rocket.
They were too shocked to laugh.
Then, they began to frown.
The heavenly masters did not have the mood to celebrate the Lunar New Year anymore. They were swiping and refreshing the news feed on their phones every day, keeping an eye on the situation.
The box office earnings continued to rise after every day. They became more and more dejected.
“That shouldn’t be!”
“This must be
fake news!!”
They were finding all kinds of excuses to comfort themselves, hoping that the box office earnings of the movie would start to fall.
However, the reality was contrary to their wishes. The box office sales continued to rise with strong momentum.
“Mao Mountain Taoist Master” was far ahead from second place In the accumulated box office rankings.
As the movie rose in popularity, it caused a wave of Mao Mountain fever. Not only had the original novel became more popular, but it was also said that many people took advantage of the Lunar New Year holiday to travel to Mao Mountain with their families.
Those leading actors also received many new fans.
The heavenly masters were incredibly jealous.
In their eyes, the Taoist masters of Mao Mountain were considered poor losers with no money or taste. However, they had become celebrities.
They saw the Taoist masters in the news, dressed up and attending all kinds of events. Everywhere they went, reporters swarmed over and their flashlights flashed wildly. The way how people had admired them made the heavenly masters incredibly envious.
“Let’s go! Let’s go and see what the movie is like!” An elderly heavenly master could not hold back his curiosity any longer.
“If we watch the movie, aren’t we contributing to their box office earnings?” Someone immediately said reluctantly.
“Yes! Yes!”
Many people agreed.
They were incredibly frustrated when they were reminded that their money would be lining the pockets of those stinky Taoist masters.
“Hah! They’ve almost made a billion yuan. What’s a few more?” The elderly heavenly master said.
He led the heavenly masters to a nearby county seat and booked an entire theater.
The laughter and exclamations of surprise did not cease.
As fellow cultivators, they could tell that the zombies and ghosts were the real deal. The fighting also used real weapons and spells.
From the trailer, they thought that the movie had used special effects.
When the movie ended, they were all dumbfounded.
‘Shooting a movie with real weapons, spells, and monsters, but packaging them as special effects? That was unprecedented!
‘Who came up with that idea?’
“That was an amazing movie! That Xuan Yang is really talented! I’ve never realized that!”
“This is too cool! I want to act in a movie too!”
They heaped on praises while feeling extremely envious.
“Should we… talk to them? We can tag along with them and be cool too!” Suddenly, someone said.
Everyone fell silent.
Then, they scrambled to take out their phones to contact the people from Mao Mountain.
A few of them even called Tang Hao.
Tang Hao was at his grandmother’s house. They had finished lunch and were chatting.
“Hello, Fellow Cultivator Tang! Are you looking for more actors? We want to be actors too! Money is not a problem. We can invest a lot of money into your company.”
Tang Hao had a weird expression on his face after hearing that.
‘Aren’t those heavenly masters sworn enemies with the Taoist masters? Why are they now willing to humble themselves and ask for cooperation?’
He did not reject them immediately but instead replied that he needed some time to consider.
The heavenly masters were loaded. If he could get them to invest, it would be beneficial to the development of Haotian Pictures.
Tang Hao received a few more calls afterward, and he gave them the same reply.
Grandma looked at him and smiled. “You’re a busy man now, Lil Hao! Your phone keeps on ringing!”
“Yeah, Lil Hao is running a big business now!” First Uncle, sitting beside him, said with a smile.
“That’s good!” Grandpa said cheerfully.
His grandparents were healthy and energetic.
Qin Xiangyi and Grandma sat together. Grandma pulled her aside from time to time and whispered something to her, which made her blush. Shi Dazhu’s family was also there. They sat in the courtyard and chatted happily.
Tang Hao received some good news that night.
“Mao Mountain Taoist Master” had earned one billion yuan!
This news swept across the Internet like a whirlwind and shocked countless people.
One billion yuan in six days!
The news made many people envious.
All the film critics who had mocked Haotian Pictures had switched sides. They praised Haotian Pictures and cheered them on.
The rest were silent.
The other directors were also silent and ashamed.
The atmosphere on the Internet was jubilant. Everyone was congratulating Haotian Pictures.
Tang Hao’s phone never stopped ringing. He received countless congratulatory messages.
Finally, Tang Hao found the time to call Trendy Taoist Master and the others to congratulate them.
The company resumed operations on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year.
All the employees were talking about the movie. It was extremely lively.
“I didn’t expect the earnings to be so high!” Liu Yan said wistfully when she met her boss in the office.
She had thought that the movie would lose a lot of money and ruin their reputation. However, the movie had made them a lot of money, and also raised Haotian Group’s reputation.
In the afternoon, he received a call from Captain Zhou.
“Hello, Captain Zhou! What’s the matter?” Tang Hao answered the phone.
“Hey, Brother Tang! I have something to trouble you with. In a car chase earlier, the criminal was caught in an accident and was seriously injured. The doctors managed to stabilize him, but he’s still unconscious.
“The doctor said that he won’t wake up from the coma! That guy is very important. He can’t die. If he dies, the case will go cold. That’s why I need your help!”
“I see… OK! I’ll come over now!”
Tang Hao agreed. Waking someone up from a coma was a simple task.
“No need. I’m almost at your place. I’ll pick you up!” Captain Zhou said.
When Tang Hao went downstairs, the police car arrived and drove him to the hospital.
