#330 - Smuggling scene (asking for monthly ticket recommendation ticket)

"Besides these people from the Ministry of Magic, what else was there? Were there other people?" Anduin suddenly asked, thinking of the dragon that Qi Qi had mentioned earlier.

"Yes, there were other people there. There were about six or seven people handcuffed by the Ministry of Magic with magic-suppressing cuffs, and there were also several dragons!" Qi Qi recalled, her eyes still filled with excitement. She had never seen a dragon in person before.

"More than one dragon? Describe the dragons to me in detail, how many dragons, their condition, their colors, sizes, and so on." Anduin hadn't taught Qi Qi about magical creatures yet, so he guessed she wouldn't be able to identify what kind of dragons they were.

"Yes, sir. Qi Qi counted five dragons in total. They were all very large, about five or six meters long, and even when they were lying on the ground, they were two meters tall. But they looked almost the same, so they should be the same species. They were covered in smooth scales, copper-colored, with sharp teeth, a black ridge on their backs, and yellowish horns on their heads."

"When Qi Qi found them, they were all tightly bound by iron chains. Two of them were either unconscious or dead and didn't move, while the other three were struggling, but they were being controlled by the Aurors on the scene. After Aselia and the others arrived, they took over the Aurors' work, and the Ministry of Magic staff worked together to cast spells on the dragons to make them fall asleep."

Hearing Qi Qi's description, Anduin pondered for a moment, and then quickly determined that the dragon species Qi Qi saw was the Peruvian Vipertooth Dragon.

This type of dragon is actually not that big among dragons. Qi Qi probably thought they were big because she had nothing to compare them to.

Although the Peruvian Vipertooth Dragon is not very large, it is still very dangerous. Their fangs have highly toxic biological toxins. It is rumored that the emergence of dragon pox is related to this type of dragon.

However, Anduin was very sure that this was the case, because his metal magic book had corresponding records. To cast the dragon pox curse, you need to use the saliva and teeth of the Peruvian Vipertooth Dragon as raw materials.

But Anduin remembered that this dragon's habitat was in the Americas, just like their name, which was named after being first discovered in Peru, South America.

So how could Peruvian Vipertooth Dragons appear in the UK? Smuggling? But how did these smugglers transport them across such a long distance? Anduin couldn't figure it out.

He shook his head, clearing these troubles from his mind. There was still too little information; he needed to gather more useful information.

Then he looked up at Qi Qi, "Did you find anything else at the scene?"

"Reporting, sir, after Qi Qi arrived at the scene, she found that there were many traces of fighting, and the surrounding area was blocked by various jammers. Aselia and the other Ministry of Magic wizards who arrived later must have arrived on foot, and each of the Aurors was wearing our family's equipment. It seems they really like this equipment," Qi Qi said proudly, showing off.

Anduin nodded. Indeed, areas covered by Anti-Apparition Jammers cannot be Apparated into, but house-elves like Qi Qi can come and go freely.

"By the way, besides those dragons, there were only those handcuffed wizards. Qi Qi found that these wizards' clothes were different from those of British wizards," Qi Qi added, thinking of something else.

"Oh? What's so special about them?" Anduin raised his eyebrows and asked with curiosity.

"Well, their clothes are not as formal as ours. Whether it's shirts or coats, they are very loose, and the color schemes are more vibrant, unlike ours, which are mainly plain colors," Qi Qi described as she recalled.

"It seems they are indeed smugglers from the Americas." Anduin nodded and looked at Qi Qi again, "What happened after that?"

"Later, most of the Aurors in trench coats took the prisoners away, leaving only a small number of Aurors and Aselia and the others. These people tied the dragons to large wooden boards and then used a kind of black, flying horse to pull them away."

"Qi Qi followed them from a distance until they returned to the Ministry of Magic. This morning, Qi Qi found that Aselia had returned home, and then Qi Qi felt that this information should be very important, so she came to Hogwarts to find you, sir." Qi Qi reported everything she had seen and heard along the way.

"So you spent the whole night on this?" Anduin looked at Qi Qi, who looked a little tired. "Thank you for your hard work. You should rest at Hogwarts for a day before going back."

"Qi Qi is not tired. Qi Qi has to rush back to look after the store. It's so late, and the shop at home hasn't opened yet, which will affect your business, sir," Qi Qi said, forcing herself to be energetic.

"Nonsense!" Anduin couldn't help but glare at her. "That broken shop can be looked after anytime. Now you must go to rest. That's my order."

"Yes… sir." Qi Qi realized that she had made Anduin angry again, and immediately lowered her head uneasily.

"Go to Hagrid's hut and get a good night's sleep. I'll bring you something to eat. You don't have to worry about Diagon Alley today. Go now." Anduin urged again, seeing that Qi Qi was still standing there blankly.

After arranging for Qi Qi to rest, Anduin finally had time to think about what happened last night.

There was no doubt that yesterday was a large-scale operation by the Ministry of Magic to capture these smuggling criminals.

Moreover, the goods they were smuggling were a large number of Peruvian Vipertooth Dragons, a highly dangerous magical creature, which was obviously a premeditated large-scale crime.

The equipment that the Ministry of Magic was so eager to purchase from him before should have been used to track and arrest these smugglers.

However, smuggling is usually done as discreetly as possible. The fact that the Ministry of Magic knew in advance that someone was smuggling and made preparations beforehand suggests something happened.

It seems that something happened before the Ministry of Magic purchased this equipment, allowing them to know in advance that someone was smuggling within the country.

"So, what role do Aselia and the Silver Spears play in this?" Anduin lowered his head and pondered, feeling confused.

Anduin had suspected Aselia's identity long ago.

And when he learned that her wand had been replaced, and that the current Aselia was using the aspen wand that was once standard equipment for the Silver Spears Dueling Club, the suspicion became even greater. At the same time, she had been hiding her strength all along.

After learning all of this, Anduin wouldn't believe that this Aselia had nothing to do with the Silver Spears, even if he was beaten to death.