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The inscription is rough, clearly not made by a professional stone worker. It is low to the ground, as if the person who inscribed it was crouching at the back of the cave while they worked. The script is Tibetan: a local writing system based on earlier Indian scripts that has existed since the seventh century. The writing is not ornate or decorative; whatever the text reads, its author saw its purpose as purely functional.

"Can you read it?" asks Stevo, and the truth is you can't. Nor can Zhu—but he does have a solution. He heads out of the cave and brings in Sangpo, the leader of your Tibetan guides.

Sangpo peers at the inscription for a few seconds, then turns to Zhu and confers with him in Cantonese. Their words are too quick and low for you to catch.

"It is nothing," says Zhu, shaking his head. "According to Sangpo, this is just a list of names. Like graffiti, I suppose."