Not Junk

[You bring the items that you scavenged back to your campsite and sort through them. You grow excited when you find another jade slip.]

Lem and his simulated self were both full of anticipation.

It was his fourth jade slip!

The first recorded the [Mountain Sitting Technique] while the contents of the three others were unknown. He made sure to put the three unknowns together and keep them separate from the [Mountain Sitting Technique], before he began dumping out the remaining pouches, disregarding the additional pain it was giving his hands.

What if there was another jade slip among them?

One pouch. Nothing.

Two pouches. Nothing.

Three! Four! Five!

[You continue sorting the items, but you do not find any more jade slips.]

Unfortunately, Lem's simulated self did not see any more glints of green among the contents.

He felt a headache. Touching so many things with his burned hands was giving him shooting pain through his arms, but he continued through it.

He separated out the rest of the spiritual crystals, moving them aside, before sorting out duplicates of different stones and more gold coins. He looked through what remained.

There was an identification badge with overlapping triangles, the symbol of the Mountain Paths Martial School. He set it aside.

There was a strange amulet. It had what appeared to be the face of a demon on it. 

Was it for warding off evil?

He did not know what to do with it. Even if it had a purpose, it was useless to him.

The remaining items seemed equally useless for the same reason: a few sticks of incense, a compass, and a small lantern.

Lem's simulated self set aside all of the strange objects, and returned to the letters that he had found in the second pouch.

He scanned through them.

"...my dearest, I just wish I could hold you in my arms…"

"...when I see you again…"

It all seemed like irrelevant love letters, likely from Master Brightflame's youth. Since he had a lifespan of hundreds of years, it could be mementos from a past lover, a past life.

Lem's simulated self continued to look through the letters.

Junk, junk, junk-not junk!

In between the sickly sweet writing was a darker paper with what looked to be a map on it. It was extremely crude, with symbols in place of names, but there were distinct images of trees, mountains, and other landmarks.

Lem's simulated self lingered over a marking that reminded him of the ravine he had encountered in a simulation where he had traveled west.

Interesting, but of what immediate value was it?

[You find a map among the items. Apart from a marking that you suspect is the ravine that you are familiar with, you cannot interpret it.]

He set the map aside, and decided to take a break from the organizing process. It had been a day since he had eaten, and he was feeling hungry.

He carefully put away all the items, sorting them into the ten pouches, before taking out the container with the least suspicious-looking meat in it.

From the looks of it, it was a piece of liver.

Lem's simulated self opened the container and plugged his nose.