Chapter 220: The Bar

In the end, Lijia was still brought to the Temple of the God of Death.

Inside the Temple, two players were discussing the world after death with the Priestess Alisen.

The three of them had already progressed from discussing whether death was lighter than a feather or heavier than Mount Tai to topics like karma, and they were talking with great relish.

The players discovered that the religious philosophy in this world was actually not very rich; in the presence of a true god, people's interpretations of scriptures and doctrines tended to lean toward things that had actually happened in reality.

Even after undergoing much compilation and having some anecdotal embellishments, under the guidance of things like religious canons, everything still had many historically derived connections rather than being content within the realm of philosophy.

Therefore, the players only needed a little simple logic to run the priestesses here in circles.

Even though these priestesses studied the classics left behind by the God of Death every day.

"You haven't returned for three years; pray well for the god's grace, and perhaps you can still be saved." Lijia's mother was a very intimidating middle-aged woman who had married at fifteen or sixteen and had given birth to Lijia's two older sisters before the age of twenty.

Lijia was her last child, and when she was young, she had doted on Lijia very much, so she always felt that Lijia's current state was because she had spoiled her too much when she was young, to the point where she was very pretentious and unable to face difficulties correctly.

Although somewhat reluctant, years of experience told Lijia that arguing with her mother at this time would not result in forgiveness, but rather in being scolded.

Especially since they were already inside the Temple, if she defied her mother's wishes, she would also be pointed at by the people around them.

She really disliked those pointing attitudes and the looks of contempt directed at her.

So she whispered, "I wish to speak with the priestess alone in the Confessional."

"Fine." Lijia's mother also knew not to be too pushy, "But you had best talk to the priestess properly; the Priestess Alisen of this Temple is a disciple of the High Priest, her status is very noble, and her understanding of death is more profound."

Hearing the word death, Lijia trembled slightly, but she quickly recovered her composure and then said to the priestess nearby, "I wish to have a chat with Priestess Alisen."

"One moment, please wait in the Confessional." This priestess walked over to Priestess Alisen and notified her.

Soon, Alisen entered the Confessional.

"You may begin your confession; the merciful God of Death will watch over you." Alisen's tone was very cheerful; after all, after chatting with those Xiahui People, she always had a feeling of sudden enlightenment.

The Divine Kingdom of the God of Death would also judge those who were heavy with sin.

And it would also provide help and support to those who did good deeds, so that they might have a better life in their next incarnation.

She was eager to spread this content right now, but without the Church's approval, she could not do so yet.

Lijia lowered her head and told Alisen about the things she had encountered over the past few years.

This young lady wept silently as she spoke; she knew that before she finished, the priestess would not interrupt her, and she had plenty of opportunities to pour out the pain in her heart.

Perhaps it would feel much better once it was spoken aloud.

"I didn't expect you to have returned from Tana City, but you clearly haven't studied well in Tana City; those Xiahui People also have some classics of the God of Death in their hands. If you had read them, perhaps you wouldn't be in so much pain."

A puzzled Lijia raised her head, "I indeed don't go out much, especially in the last few years."

"You should go out and walk around; I hope you can also have a good look around Gannaer, as there have been many changes here." Alisen looked at Lijia with sympathy, "You must know, all of this has karma."

"Karma?"

"Yes, good begets good, evil begets evil. The pain you are receiving now is very likely because you committed some karmic debts in a past life; what you are receiving now is all to atone for that past life. Of course, now that they have deceived you and hurt you, they will also receive punishment in the Divine Kingdom after death."

Although it was different from what the players had said, Alisen already had her own understanding.

She quickly explained in detail the punishments in Hell for those who did wrong, and then said some things about how doing good and accumulating virtue would have various benefits for her future.

In short, the things the players had used to hoodwink her, she had re-exported to Lijia after her own interpretation.

Hearing this, Lijia immediately felt much more cheerful.

Inside the Temple, one's spirit would inherently be affected by some of the Spiritual Material here.

Now that she had received some comfort and redemption, she suddenly felt that she shouldn't be doing that badly.

Once the mistakes of her past life were paid off, she could live better; by doing more good deeds, she could receive blessings in the next life.

Although these words had not appeared in the original doctrines of the God of Death.

But Lijia quickly accepted this explanation.

After all, this explanation was beneficial to her; people always instinctively believe in doctrines that are good for them.

Two hours later, Lijia finally came out of the Confessional, by which time her family had been waiting until they were somewhat drowsy.

"I'm out; Priestess Alisen's words make a lot of sense, and I feel much better." Lijia revealed a faint smile, although she still felt somewhat sad.

After all, thinking about the various things she had done in her past life, leading to her meeting the wrong people in this life, she still felt quite miserable.

Of course, she also intended to do more good deeds in this life, such as being filial to her mother and helping those who were poor and suffering.

"That's good. I've also thought about it just now; I cannot force you to marry." Lijia stepped back, and her mother did not continue to force her, "Alright, let's go eat now; I feel a bit hungry."

At this time, Yun Xiao was already inspecting the bar.

The work efficiency of these Gannaer people was quite high; perhaps because there were not many job opportunities for men, the people here had quickly finished renovating the new bar and put it into operation.

The players he brought were all experts among the life-skill players, and they had already shown good quality back in Tana City.

Some of these players could mix drinks, some could play instruments, and some could cook.

There were also several waiters who were quite eloquent and had learned Tana Language very well.

"Beautiful lady, please come this way to be seated." This player said to Lijia's mother, "You look as young as my sister."

"You really know how to talk." Lijia's mother's face turned a bit red, but the lighting inside the bar was somewhat dim and not very bright, so even if she blushed, it would not be discovered by others.

Lijia felt as if she had heard this somewhere before; it seemed that when she went to that Rice Bowl shop to eat earlier, that female shopkeeper had taught her staff exactly like this.

"How can this be just talk? It is because you possess enough charm." The waiter led them to the reserved seat, "This is our menu, and these are the cookies we are giving you as a gift."

"The taste is quite good." Because of the lighting, Viscountess Arianna did not feign modesty, but instead tasted a cookie placed on the table directly.

These cookies were shipped directly from Tana City; because the journey was only two hours, Yun Xiao's shop could have fresh cookies brought over from there every day.

The well-received cookies successfully opened up the Gannaer people's taste buds; because they were located in the tropics, people here liked to eat sweets to replenish the nutrients they lost.

This point was the same as the people in Tana City, but most people in Tana City could not afford sweets, or even Grain, while the Gannaer people were different; the lives of the people here were still considered stable, there were not many Slaves, and under the careful management of the Royal Family, people's lives were relatively affluent.

Therefore, doing business in Gannaer was actually not difficult, as long as one could keep up with the consumption points of these Gannaer people.

"This is our recommended drink; if you like a sweet and sour flavor, you can order Blue Sadness; if you like pineapple flavor, you can choose this Pink Orange Lady..."

The flavors of the various cocktails all had very pleasant names, most of which were inclined toward being feminine.

However, this was very much to Arianna's taste. "Hmm, then let's have one of each. I heard you also have Lemon Black Tea? Give us one of those; my youngest daughter cannot drink alcohol."

Because of her physical condition, Lijia had been unable to drink alcohol since she was a child.

Therefore, she could never use hangovers to vent her emotions, and could only spend every day sober.

"This..." Lijia had wanted to order something else; after all, she had only just drunk some on the Ship today.

But thinking of her mother's temper, she could only agree. Fortunately, the Lemon Black Tea was also very delicious.

"These Rice Bowls, fried dumplings, and noodles, give us one of each, and these little desserts, I like them very much too." Arianna was likely feeling a bit carried away by the other party's flattering words.

In Gannaer, men would not particularly praise women, but would instead show off themselves to let women praise them.

Because this was one of the very few times in their lives that they could get a word in.

In most cases, the women of Gannaer were very strong-willed, which was why a personality like Lijia's made Viscountess Arianna feel very ashamed.

Soon, a large table was filled with dishes.

Arianna was a noble, so ordering a bit more was no problem at all. Naturally, she would also give the food she couldn't finish to her servants.

"The dishes here are quite good. The last time I came to taste them with Baroness Clara, the Wine and food here were both very good."

"I thought a bar wouldn't be like this." Hearing the piano music softly begin to play, Lijia felt a bit dazed and bewildered.

She remembered that when she got off the Ship, there was a merchant who wanted to open a bar here.

She had even thought that opening a bar here was simply insane.

After all, what Gannaer people hated most were smelly bars where men gathered in crowds.

Those men would not be allowed to come to a bar to drink, as drinking too much would cause many family conflicts.

But this did not mean that women could not drink; most women would drink a little, for example, her own mother.

However, they often drank in secret and would not openly admit to being a drunkard.

Therefore, a place like a bar naturally had no soil for survival in Gannaer.

It was fortunate she hadn't said anything to that merchant; it was very clear that this bar was a great success.

"Hello, I hope you enjoy your meal. If it is convenient, you can fill out a survey for us; we need to know if you are satisfied with our service. You can also take the initiative to request piano tracks, as long as we know how to play them."

"This is a tip for you. Help me change to a piece called 'Dream'."

"No problem." The waiter smiled happily, put down the survey, and then notified the pianist to change the music.

"I had never seen this kind of bar before. You see, there are still many beautiful things in this world; you need eyes that can discover them." One of Lijia's sisters patted Lijia on the shoulder. "I believe your days will get better."

"Yes, after talking with the Priestess today, my thinking has changed a lot." Lijia thought for a moment and said, "However, I still hope to start my career in Tana City."

"Why not come back? Tana City has many things that make you sad." Viscountess Arianna frowned.

She had not seen her youngest daughter for three years and very much hoped to protect her child under her wings.

Before, it was because the situation in Gannaer was relatively chaotic, but now, Gannaer could be said to have recovered quite a bit.

Although there were still witches who might cause some problems, for a noble like her, it was not a big issue.

At the very least, she had many Awakened in her household who could protect her daughter well.

"I hope to stand up where I fell, and besides... I think Gannaer has changed a lot now. I can use my understanding of Gannaer to open an intermediary shop in Tana City to help those merchants who don't understand Gannaer." She mentioned the merchant she met on the Ship today to her mother. "I think if he had a Gannaer person like me to help, perhaps he could invest more smoothly."

"You are right, this way you can also have more contact with the family." Viscountess Arianna nodded. "In any case, you can look around Gannaer for now. I will go to Tana City in the future, after all, it is so close."

The mother and daughter were actually having such an enjoyable conversation for the first time.

Lijia's mother no longer felt her daughter was useless, and Lijia no longer felt her mother was overly aggressive.

Perhaps this was the environmental effect of this bar.

This indeed had an environmental effect.

Ever since Ai Ai obtained some painting pigment formulas from the Sun God Cult, she had decisively shared these formulas with the players.

These formulas could be added to Paint to render the environment, making the atmosphere in the bar more tranquil and peaceful.

People here would not cause trouble even if they drank too much alcohol.

"There are many more customers today; perhaps it won't be long before we open a branch." Yun Xiao looked at the number of people in the bar and said to Fred, who was on the side, "It's a good thing you are coming over to open a shop; I can pass our experience on to you."

(End of chapter)