Chapter 189: Unexpected Mount Parade

At the parking lot beside the City Gate, tourists rushing over gasped in shock at the scene outside—eyes wide with disbelief.

Several police vehicles from the Mingsha Police Station led the way with flashing warning lights, trailed by fifty towering reindeer.

Each reindeer bore a saddle on its back with an attendant guiding from the front.

They were arranged in neat rows of five.

It was clear that this impressive display was arranged just for the tourists.

“Holy shit. What’s going on? Reindeer? A new mount by Mingsha Tourism?”

Snap out of it.

The first reaction from many tourists was that Mingsha Tourism had seriously outdone themselves.

They’d only read about people riding reindeer in books and had never seen it at any Long Kingdom attraction—until now, with fifty of them appearing all at once.

“I’m definitely riding one, even if it costs extra!”

After a brief pause, eager tourists rushed off to the Visitor Center to inquire about the price.

Meanwhile, others seemed to have forgotten their original plan entirely, completely captivated by the spectacle at the City Gate, with many filming the scene on their phones.

As the fifty reindeer steadily moved into the city, nearly a hundred black yaks appeared behind them!

The decorations were identical and impeccably arranged!

Before the astonished murmurs could rise, a hundred white yaks, festooned with colorful ribbons, emerged behind the black ones, looking every bit the mighty, imposing Ox King.

In the midst of awed exclamations,

a troop of fifty exquisitely decorated elephants appeared behind the hundred white yaks. Their sheer majesty gave many tourists an unprecedented sense of awe.

Combined with the constant bellowing of the yaks and the trumpeting of the elephants, the entire scene was nothing short of breathtaking.

Were it not at a Mingsha guesthouse, the display might easily be mistaken for an ancient tribal battle.

As the audience in the parking lot flocked to the mount waiting area, animated chatter filled the air.

“What is Mingsha Tourism trying to pull? Are they planning to wreak havoc on the streets?”

“Yeah, and it’s even more explosive than those luxury car crashes.”

“With so many bizarre mounts on offer, why didn’t they unveil this sooner? Just to grab attention?”

“Who knows!”

“And they even brought in elephants! I mean, will elephants even work in the Great Northwest?”

“Why not! Even zoos in the Northeast have elephants, and they seem just fine.”

“True!”

“But seriously, Mingsha Tourism sure knows how to create buzz. I absolutely must ride a white yak. I once saw white yaks at a tourist spot in the west—only they wouldn’t let you ride, just take a photo for twenty bucks a shot. Ridiculous!”

“Riding a white yak? These look majestic—there’ll be a long line for sure!”

“Then what are you waiting for? Go grab one!”

In an instant, the parking lot erupted with excitement—the tourists had forgotten all earlier complaints. Now, their sole objective was to snag a mount for a trip to Langya Pavilion.

If you couldn’t get a reindeer, go for an elephant; if elephants weren’t available, try for a white yak—and if not, even a black yak would do.

And that wasn’t all.

As they scrambled for mounts, tourists began posting updates and short videos online. By 11 AM, as views kept climbing, the video of Mingsha Tourism’s mount parade had naturally become a trending hit, sparking countless comments.

On one popular domestic forum, when an enthusiastic netizen uploaded the video to a thread, it nearly crashed from an overwhelming flood of posts.

“Mingsha Tourism really knows how to have fun! Right at the start of the New Year, they pulled off not one, but two major surprises! I’d love to experience this in person—imagine someone in ancient costume riding a reindeer, like an immortal descending to earth!”

“That’s entirely possible!”

“I’m getting more and more excited about what Mingsha Tourism has in store. Who knows, one day they may even let you ride a fierce beast right into an attraction!”

Under that comment, likes quickly soared past ten thousand, reflecting the sentiments of countless netizens.

“Ride a fierce beast? That seems unlikely! It looks like every rideable animal is now part of Mingsha Tourism’s showcase. What more could they possibly add?”

“I agree! Although Mingsha Tourism has the qualifications to run a zoo, not every animal is meant for riding—everything here is legally sanctioned.”

“That may be, but since when has Mingsha Tourism ever played by the rules?”

“Exactly.”

“By the way, why didn’t they reveal these mounts sooner? If they had, the attractions would have been swarmed even on the first day of the Lunar New Year.”

At that moment, one onlooker voiced the burning question.

“Other attractions would have promoted such a show long before the mounts arrived—Mingsha Tourism always plays it low-key.”

“That question has already been answered!”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, some tourists mentioned that when they asked at the Visitor Center, the staff said these mounts were originally prepared for Haofang Culture’s new xianxia drama.

But due to the overwhelming number of visitors today, they had to roll them out as an emergency measure.”

A knowledgeable netizen replied.

“Wait, they were meant for Haofang Culture’s xianxia drama? That’s a massive production!”

With that answer, the thread suddenly quieted down.

“According to staff, Mingsha Tourism plans to transform the original xianxia set into a proper xianxia tourism zone, making these mounts unique to this area.”

“And rumor has it that once the xianxia area is complete, the ostrich mounts will be moved there—leaving only horses and camels at the City Gate.”

“Alright, enough already! Haofang Culture’s xianxia drama has definitely caught my interest. So, what’s it called?”

“That remains a secret for now!”

“Uh huh.”

During the New Year period, travel dominated trending topics—either a tourist spot apologized or highways were gridlocked—but once Mingsha Tourism’s new mount parade hit the scene, it naturally soared onto the trending list.

The headline read:

“The Unique New Mounts of Mingsha Tourism”

On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, while many were still resting, some workers had already returned to their jobs. In Haishi, at Tianchen Culture, Yang Yuan stared at the trending topic on his computer, rubbing his temples in amazement.

“Incredible! They’re unbeatable! Haofang Culture’s marketing is genius—promoting not only the attraction but also their fourth xianxia drama through trending topics!”

“No doubt, if the drama airs, it will easily outshine other prime-time shows.”

Interestingly, Tianchen Culture originally had a movie slated for the New Year period, but when it turned out that Haofang Culture also had a film, schedules were abruptly shifted.

“Yang, in terms of TV dramas, Haofang Culture is unmatched. But when it comes to films, they’re not as dominant. The box office battle between Ning An Cultural Tourism and their film was neck and neck. Had we released ours then, who knows…”

Across the desk, Operations Manager Liu Qing fell silent for a moment and murmured.

“Ever since Tianchen Culture stopped teaming up with Mingsha Tourism, things have eased up, though our spotlight has dimmed. Especially after Ning An Cultural Tourism replaced Tianchen Culture, morale has become rather complicated.”

“You’re overthinking it! Ning An Cultural Tourism could only compete because of the family-friendly film genre—they naturally do well at the box office!”

“More importantly, Haofang Culture simply didn’t even acknowledge them—Ning An Cultural Tourism was just deluding itself by considering them rivals.”

Yang Yuan shot a quick glance at Liu Qing.

“Huh?”

Liu Qing was visibly taken aback.

“Next time, use your head a bit more! Tell me, what did netizens say before Haofang Culture’s movie dropped? Didn’t they claim that martial arts films were cursed to never exceed five billion? Just look at the box office for Longmen Inn!”

“And check out the online reviews—many claim this film is the best action movie in recent years.”

Yang Yuan added,

“I…”

That’s when the talk of the box office curse resurfaced.

“Also, this film was born out of a minor incident, so in terms of promotion and everything else, Haofang Culture’s budget was far lower than Ning An Cultural Tourism’s.

In fact, you could say that even if both hit a ten-billion mark, Ning An Cultural Tourism had already lost. Just look at how many netizens are talking about Ning An Cultural Tourism’s new New Moon Tower compared to Mingsha’s Longmen Inn.”

Yang Yuan sighed once more.

“Yang, what about our movie?”

“Once the Lunar New Year period wraps up, we’ll push for its release. I have a feeling March won’t be quiet—Haofang Culture might be cooking up something big!”

Yang Yuan straightened his posture.

“Yang, with the xianxia drama trending, Haofang Culture will most likely focus solely on xianxia and tourism for now, and we won’t see any more films in the short term.”

Liu Qing couldn’t help but express his surprise.

He felt his boss might be excessively cautious.

“No more films for now? Are you the boss of Haofang Culture or Mingsha Tourism? That side can do no wrong! Just wait—a rough time lies ahead for Ning An Cultural Tourism.”

Yang Yuan shot another glance at his computer screen. Not stirring up trouble or following the usual playbook—is that even Haofang Culture or Mingsha Tourism? In fact, his final remark struck a real chord.

Meanwhile, Qi Haoyong, seated at his computer, kept running his fingers through his hair repeatedly.

“Trending on the hot list… They even managed to promote the new xianxia drama. Damn, what are we supposed to do for the film festival now?!”