Chapter 197
[China,Beijing]
He did not stay long in Karaganda and almost immediately moved to Beijing, which greeted him with a bright sun with a few small clouds, because of which even Nagini crawled out from under his robe and also began to enjoy the warm rays.
The place where Severus found himself was Tiananmen Square, not far from the flagpole, a hundred metres from the large, red gates on which was a portrait of an elderly man in a grey suit, with a feature inherent in all residents of this country - narrow eyes, and he also had a small bald spot in the forehead area.
From the memories of the Chinese man he caught in London, Severus learned much more besides the language, including the history of the country, as well as Beijing itself, because he lived in this city and knew it very well, and in Britain, he was only passing through.
The square itself, where he found himself, surprised him with its size: almost nine hundred metres in length and more than five hundred in width.
This place was the largest square in the world. And behind the gates, there was the "Forbidden City", it was a real palace quarter founded five hundred and fifty-eight years ago and preserved in perfect condition to this day.
The square also had many historical monuments and even a mausoleum belonging to Mao Zedong, the previous ruler, who died two years ago and it was his portrait that hung on the gates.
In addition to the colossal number of Muggles, there were also many wizards walking around, even too many, which was not surprising, because China was the most densely populated country in the world with almost one billion inhabitants, while Great Britain had only fifty-six million people and the difference was simply colossal.
The same was true for wizards, because it was in this country that there were the largest number of them, but although there were more of them, the quality suffered, because the two schools of magic simply could not teach everyone, which is why most of them were self-taught or were taught by relatives, so the overall level suffered.
For the same reason, in this country there was a huge number of both large and small groups that took "free" wizards to themselves and also trained them, but for their own benefit.
But, oddly enough, from the information that the Prince dug up about the magical world of China, it was now quite calm after the last war that happened forty years ago, when the country was again divided between gangs and groups.
The "KMP" itself did not interfere in their affairs, unless of course they went too far, because the Chinese Magical Government received good compensation from them, so it turned a blind eye to most of the cases, if it did not harm the common people.
Having looked around a little, Severus did not linger in the square for long, but moved straight to the exit, passing the mausoleum.
Severus' interest was caused by the fact that Muggles, especially all sorts of emperors and kings, loved to collect various ancient things in their collections, especially jewellery and weapons.
Once, visiting an archaeological museum in London, he even found five magical items, although rather mediocre, but they were still there.
And after going around a few more, in total, he was able to find thirty-nine objects emitting magic, among which three were not weak artefacts for this world, and he even bought it, not so much because of its powers, but on the contrary, because it was cursed.
It was an urn, the neck of which was sealed with many seals,under which there was an inscription that there were ashes of some Muggle ruler from ancient times, although in fact, the soul of a dark wizard was sealed there and apparently a long time ago, because that clot of dark magic had long since dissipated its personality, he realised this when Eileen absorbed it, and it did not resist at all.
Why didn't other wizards take them? Everything was very simple, they could not feel the magic from them, because they emitted as much of it as was in the air, so it was simply impossible to determine whether it was an artefact or not.
This was also the reason why the Prince wanted to stay in this country for a week and visit all the local museums.
After all, the people of China are very careful about their history and past, and they have preserved a lot from those times, so he had no doubt that something interesting would be found.
In addition, their country belongs to the most ancient civilizations, which increased the chances of this. Severus did not want to make the same mistake as before and strengthened the charms he had cast on himself so that no one would follow him anymore, and besides, he did not want to scare away the bigger fish.
"The last time I saw so many people was in Diagon Alley before the first of September, " the snake hissed in surprise, looking at the crowds of people passing by them.
They crossed the street at a pedestrian crossing and continued on their way. "It's normal, with such a number of Muggles," he answered calmly, looking at the most ordinary two-story buildings, not in the most presentable appearance, while sliding his gaze over the people, some of whom were dressed rather poorly, and not even for the weather, there were even those who just sat on cardboard near the houses, wrapped in some rags, among them, in addition to the elderly, there were even children.
"Although the cars are similar to what I saw in the USSR, but the houses, and in the capital, and the poverty ... somehow strange, because the capital is the face of the country ... Although ... it's none of my business," throwing unnecessary thoughts out of his head and concentrating on a certain mark, the Slytherin turned at the next turn and entered a small alley between the houses.
"Poor people…." Nagini muttered with pity, for her it was especially hard to look at the emaciated, pale children, who seemed about to be blown away by the wind.
"That's their fate," Severus, smiling bitterly, stroked her head, "I understand that you would like to help them, but it's impossible, we don't have the resources or time for that, even if we feel sorry for them today, tomorrow will be the same."
"I… I understand…"
The wizard headed towards the wall, but he did not stop and simply walked through it...
And, the next moment, a wide street opened up to their gaze, illuminated by yellow light from the sky, but without the sun, the road to which was made of stone slabs with various patterns, on the sides of which stood the same type of wooden buildings, having from one to several floors, with roofs, the corners of which were curved upwards and connected to the opposite ones and to them red lamps were attached with various hieroglyphs.
And in the buildings or opposite them there were small shops, behind which stood wizards selling various magical items, among which, the wizard noticed various talismans, such as: sheets of paper, small bags, figurines, but mainly dragons and other trinkets.
The wizards themselves, of whom there were a huge number, almost all wore robes, although there were those who wore strange outfits resembling robes with a wide belt, but these were few and far between, and they were almost always followed by groups of people, which spoke of their status.
But Severus did not focus his attention on the stalls, but walked forward, languidly examining the goods on display along the way.
"... don't pass by…"
"... outfits for every taste…"
"…potions that you will not find anywhere else...!"
"....ingredients, straight from Mount Tianzi, were collected only today!"
"….fried snakes, seasoned with the best spices!"
Nagini almost immediately flinched, hearing these words and sent a murderous look in the direction of a smiling merchant in a robe, holding a fried snake on a stick, from which steam was still emanating.
A similar cacophony of voices accompanied them all the way, although the Prince was tempted to look at the herbs, but he still wanted to finish the business for which he came to this country first, and then have fun.
And finally, they reached a five-story building, very different from the others and reminiscent of a "pagoda".
Its walls, in addition to having four windows on each side, were decorated with dragons and phoenixes painted in gold and orange lanterns were attached to the roofs of almost every floor.
"So it's here ...he chose a good place…." looking at two wizards in suits standing at the entrance, Severus drawled with slight interest, "Hide now."
"Okay."
Slightly changing his face, to one of those he saw on the street and throwing off his hood, Severus headed towards the building and, as soon as he approached the entrance, the two men almost immediately blocked his path.
"Welcome to the White Lotus Hotel, let me take a look at your card." One of them greeted him politely with a friendly smile.
"I don't have one." Severus answered calmly, but the guards didn't react to this in any way and continued to look at Severus, as if expecting something.
"A dragon decorating a white lotus," and almost immediately their smiles became even more respectful and they moved aside, bowing slightly.
"Have a nice evening."
In response, Severus didn't react to this in any way, only nodded silently and entered the building.
Inside, the hotel resembled a restaurant: there was a large bar, as well as tables with chairs, at which guests sat, and in one of the corners there was a grand piano, on which a musician in a suit and a white mask covering half his face played.
The walls, like the outside, were decorated with dragons and phoenixes, as well as flowers, on a red background, but in addition to them, much more elegant lanterns were attached to the ceiling, and from them, a red, transparent fabric went and clung to the balconies of the second floor.
Severus did not attract much attention, because he was not the only one in a robe, some did not even show their faces.
"How did you know the password?" Nagini asked him with interest.
"I just read the guard's thoughts, so you shouldn't rely on any weak artefacts that protect the mind," he said with a chuckle, looking towards the second floor, at one of the rooms covered with a red cloth, from where he felt his mark, and from where a few seconds later a young man of Asian appearance came out, with dark hair combed back, in a red suit and a black shirt, with a restrained smile on his face, hugging a girl in a long, red qipao and again with a painted golden dragon.
"Here you are, my friend..." Severus grinned, sitting down at one of the tables and calmly began to wait for his target, descending to the first floor...
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