After the snow fell, Jiang Xi rarely went far from home. Even when she went out to collect firewood, she would only go to the surrounding mountains. She rarely even came to the lake.

Yesterday she said she wasn't a pretentious person, but today, after walking only three kilometers in the snow, her legs were already numb. The cold wind was biting, and her face felt like it was being cut by knives. Without even looking, her fingers under her gloves must have been frozen red.

I feel ashamed of what I said yesterday.

When it came time to climb the mountain, the cliffs were steep. Yan Jing'an led the way and used a rope for her to use for leverage. They used both their hands and feet, and after working up a sweat, they finally made it to the top of the mountain.

When the three arrived at the cave, the sun was already high in the sky.

Jiang Xi didn't have time to appreciate the snowy scenery of the valley; she went straight to the murals inside the cave.

The mural peeking out from the middle of the wall is a simple sketch depicting a scene of humans and animals living together. Some areas have a touch of muted red and brown, the expressions are vivid, and the brushstrokes are natural.

Jiang Xi stared at the mural, her eyes seemingly shining. Suddenly, she moved closer and murmured, "There seem to be more over there."

Upon hearing this, Yan Jing'an instinctively tried to brush the dust off the wall with his hand.

"stop."

Jiang Xi stared wide-eyed at his raised hand and quickly stopped him.

He then explained, "These murals are mostly made with mineral pigments, and in many places they have already begun to weather and fade. Even a little external force could damage them."

Then she took off her gloves and swiftly pulled a prepared pig bristle brush from her pocket.

Yan Jing'an thought to himself, "That's professional!"

“A torch.” Jiang Xi reached out her hand to him.

Upon seeing this, Yan Jing'an quickly took out a torch from his backpack, lit it, and handed it to her.

By the light of the torch, Jiang Xi used a homemade pig bristle brush to gently brush away the dust from the mural. As she brushed, patterns gradually emerged from the wall, and even a few characters appeared in the upper left corner.

Yan Zheng looked at the traditional Chinese characters on the wall with a heavy heart: "...Zu Wuxian, in the thirty-eighth year of Wanli... moved into the valley to avoid disaster."

After roughly calculating the era, I had a general idea.

As the patterns on the wall grew larger, Jiang Xi became increasingly excited, and her hands moved faster and faster.

She swept for almost an hour, her hands turning red from the cold. She kept breathing on her hands to keep cleaning.

Yan Jing'an exclaimed, "This is far too much."

Murals of all shapes and sizes, both complex and simple, cover nearly half the wall.

Seeing that this wouldn't work, Yan Zheng instructed Yan Jing'an, "You stay here and watch over things, I'll go get some firewood."

Yan Jing'an's mind was on the mural, and he waved his hand casually when he heard this. Yan Zheng kicked him from behind, not with full force, but enough to bring him back to his senses.

Yan Jing'an winced in pain and turned around to find Yan Zheng glaring at him. Only then did he realize that he was there to work as a security guard, and he hurriedly said guiltily that he understood.

Another hour passed, and the fire was rekindled twice before all the paintings were finally revealed. Jiang Xi felt her heart was about to jump out of her chest. There were so many, an entire wall, from left to right, from top to bottom, all of them.

Yan Zheng held the torch closer to examine the murals and gradually noticed some clues: "These murals depict the development history of a people?"

Jiang Xi turned her head and gave him a bright look: "You understood it too?"

"These murals actually tell a story. To be precise, they tell the story of a people."

She organized her thoughts and said, "It tells the story of a group of people who came to this valley from Wu County during the Wanli era to seek refuge. Wu County in the Ming Dynasty probably refers to the area around present-day Jiangsu."

"Led by the chieftain, they carried seeds and tools and traveled through snow-capped mountains and deserts, enduring countless hardships to finally arrive here and settle in this valley."

Jiang Xi continued interpreting the mural as she looked at it: "Later, they learned to raise sheep, chickens, ducks, and other animals, and they also planted a lot of grains and even built a granary. The number of people in their tribe also increased."

"Several generations later, an earthquake occurred in the valley."

“Back then, they called it ‘earth dragon,’ and it’s right here.” She pointed to a mural where people were leaning to one side or the other, and a half-collapsed mountain on the right side with a pictographic dragon drawn at its base.

Then Jiang Xi continued, "The earthquake caused the mountain range to collapse, blocking the way out of the valley. So the people of this ethnic group have been living here year after year, from voluntarily to being forced, and have never been able to leave."

She continued looking down at the murals, remaining silent for a few moments.

Yan Zheng's heart skipped a beat.

Jiang Xi said, "Unexpectedly, one day a plague broke out and many children died. They thought that their hunting had disturbed the mountain god and angered him. So, under the leadership of the chief, they sacrificed the most skilled hunter in the tribe and offered his head as a sacrifice to the mountain god."

She glanced at the skull in the corner: "This must be the hunter."

Yan Jing'an was listening intently and quickly asked, "And then?"

Jiang Xi looked at the mural and continued, "Then... but the sacrifice did not stop the plague."

Yan Jing'an said, "This ignorance is unbelievable. We've lost a key laborer."

Yan Zheng also said in a deep voice, "Look at the chief's smile. Maybe this chief wants to get rid of this hunter so that he won't threaten his position."

Jiang Xi hummed in agreement: "We no longer know the truth. But the painting says that after the hunter died, the remaining hunters hunted less and less prey. Then winter came."

"Because of the plague, they did not have enough food reserves in the fall, and they could not hunt enough game in the winter. Many children and women starved to death that year."

"Um?"

Jiang Xi asked in confusion, "Then the style of the painting suddenly changed, and in the end, only a man missing an arm was painted. The mural ended there."

It's truly heartbreaking that such a large ethnic group gradually declined due to natural disasters and internal strife.

After Jiang Xi finished speaking, she remained silent. Yan Zheng looked at her, asking what was wrong. After a long while, she finally spoke: "Have you heard of the Little Ice Age?"

Yan Zheng said, "Are you referring to the Little Ice Age of the Ming Dynasty?"

Jiang Xi nodded: "This is also controversial at the moment, but there is a theory that at that time, global temperatures plummeted for decades, and even many southern regions began to experience snow and ice in winter, resulting in reduced food production and economic weakness. At that time, many people were starving and displaced."

"If it's about avoiding disaster, what kind of disaster could it be that requires hiding in a valley? The 38th year of the Wanli reign was during the Little Ice Age, which was also the time when plagues were most prevalent. They may have thought that staying away from people would keep them safe, but humans are too insignificant in the face of nature."

Yan Jing'an said, "People from more than four hundred years ago, I don't know if any of them are still alive. If they are, we might even find a village nearby."

Jiang Xi shook her head: "They're probably gone, or they've migrated."