After I Am died, You Tell Me This Is A Life Simulation?
Chapter 14 - First Encounter

Chapter 14: First Encounter

Fang Family Medical Hall.

Fang Han handed a few packets of medicine to a middle-aged woman in front of him and accepted the payment.

Over the past three months, his clinic had truly gotten off the ground.

As the saying goes, *“Good wine needs no bush.”*¹

With excellent medical skills, there was no fear that no one would come.

It had begun with one or two impoverished villagers who could only come and try out of desperation. Gradually, word spread, and now it could be said the clinic was running steadily.

Fang Han consulted patiently, three hours each in the morning and afternoon.

He also took two rest days every seven days.

Hmm… of course, he had no intention of overworking himself. *Now that I’ve come to ancient times, I won’t be doing any of that 996 nonsense.*²

Aside from that, he occasionally went to villages outside the county to offer free consultations, earning deep respect from the local people.

His daily martial arts training had not been skipped even once.

His internal strength had grown considerably.

Fang Han was very pleased. *This speed is way faster than in the Life Simulation.*³

Just as he was about to return behind the counter, his eyebrows rose slightly. Looking toward the entrance, he cupped his hands with a smile:

“Elder Zhen, what brings you here today with such leisure?”

“Hahaha! What? I can’t come?”

Old Zhen was never one to be polite. His foot had barely stepped in when he already shouted:

“Quick, quick! Bring a cup of tea!”

At this, Fang Han could only shake his head and chuckle.

He hadn’t expected it—

In the Life Simulation, it had taken such a long time to gain his trust. Yet here, after just over three months, they were already quite familiar.

Somewhat surprising, he thought.

But Fang Han was happy about it nonetheless. After all, this was the master who had taught him medical arts in the simulation—restoring their relationship was only a good thing.

Though, of course, they could no longer truly be master and disciple.

Just as he was about to respond, he noticed a petite figure following behind Elder Zhen and was momentarily stunned:

“And this is…?”

Seeing that Fang Han had noticed Cheng Lingsu, Elder Zhen smiled smugly:

“Boy! Your medical skills may be decent, but compared to this young lady of mine, you still fall short!”

Over the past three months, the two had indeed interacted quite a bit.

Elder Zhen had initially felt it rare to meet a kindred spirit in the same trade—perhaps even from the same sect.

Because of that, he had raised his guard, secretly wary that this young man had ulterior motives or a hidden agenda for approaching him.

After all, how could it be such a coincidence…

But a, ter a few more interactions, he realized it had been a misunderstanding.

The other’s medical skills were even superior to his own—what scheme could he possibly be plotting?

Because of this, Elder Zhen felt both embarrassed and frustrated.

Embarrassed at his overthinking. Frustrated that, despite a lifetime of experience, he was outshone by a youth.

What a blow.

But it wasn’t the first time he’d been dealt such a blow by his fellow disciples, so he had gotten used to it. Soon, he didn’t take it to heart.

In fact, he had even begun to admire Fang Han—though he couldn’t help feeling a bit unwilling. So young, yet already skilled in medicine… but what about experience? Let’s see you try beating me in that!

And so, he often sparHeng Han.

But every time…

He was soundly defeated.

On Fang Han’s end, things were much simpler.

He merely wanted to reestablish a good relationship with the master who had taught him medicine in the Life Simulation.

Although their intentions were different, the result was the same—they grew genuinely close.

More accurately, it was Elder Zhen who had warmed up to Fang Han.

This time, however, Elder Zhen had come for another reason—

To reclaim some dignity.

After decades of medical practice, he couldn’t accept being bested again and again by a youngster.

By coincidence, in confirming Fang Han’s origins, he had come across his junior niece, Cheng Lingsu.

At first, he thought of her merely as Senior Brother’s final disciple, and hadn’t placed much importance on her medical ability.

After all, what could one expect from a girl in her teens?

Probably hadn’t inherited even a fraction of her master’s teachings.

But then…

Reality slapped him in the face again.

The little girl had, in fact, fully inherited their master’s teachings. Her medical skill was astounding—beyond anything he could have imagined.

He was shocked. Moved.

His first thought was:

Are today’s younger generations all this powerful?

His second thought was:

My niece Lingsu has the makings of the Medicine King!

Even more impressive than young Fang Han!

Time to humble him a little!

And so…

He eagerly brought Cheng Lingsu with him today.

Upon hearing Elder Zhen’s words, Fang Han was momentarily speechless.

Since when did this old man get so good at bragging? Didn’t even draft the lines…

But he still looked more carefully at the young figure.

She was dressed in a coarse linen dress, her complexion slightly pale, her features at first glance ordinary—but on closer inspection, rather proper.

She seemed to be around fifteen or sixteen, though her petite and frail frame made her appear even younger.

Fang Han felt a twinge of pity. After a moment’s pause, he said with a strange tone:

“Elder Zhen, your… household is this tight on money? Why has this young girl grown up looking so pitiful and frail?”

Elder Zhen: “…”

Cheng Lingsu looked at Fang Han with her bright eyes, then lowered her head without speaking.

She had already felt Elder Zhen’s words were inappropriate from the start.

Who introduces someone with such words? And why expose her background so directly…

But it wasn’t her place to interrupt an elder.

Now, hearing Fang Han’s blunt words, he found both of them startlingly forthright.

To put it bluntly, they were downright unfiltered.

This one outright called the other’s medical skills inferior to a little girl. That one, in turn, accused him of not being able to feed a little girl properly—either too poor or too unkind.

Even clever and quick-witted Cheng Lingsu felt uncertain.

What’s the relationship between these two? Frenemies? Rivals?

Elder Zhen was momentarily choked up, unable to respond. After thinking it over, his beard twitched and he scolded Fang Han with a smile:

“What are you snarking about? Do I look like some stingy old miser?”

Fang Han replied with a grin:

“Weren’t you the one throwing shade first?”

Elder Zhen puffed his beard and glared:

“Y, you don’t believe me?”

Suddenly, as if thinking of something, his expression eased, and he chuckled:

“Fang lad, you must know—there’s always someone better out there.”⁴

“Forget it, believe what you will. It’s none of my concern.”

Then he introduced Cheng Lingsu:

“This is the daughter of a distant relative of mine. Her family has had some hardships, and she came to stay with me recently.”

Then glaring at Fang Han, he added:

“Just watch. Soon, I’ll raise her well.”

He turned to Cheng Lingsu and said:

“This is Mister Fang—Fang Han. Also, a man of medicine and virtue. You’re not too far apart in age, so you may get al,ong. He’s respected in the community—feel free to call him Mister Fang.”

Cheng Lingsu stepped forward slightly and greeted Fang Han:

“Mister Fang.”

Fang Han nodded gently:

“No need to be so formal, Miss Cheng.”

Footnotes:

1. 酒香不怕巷子深 (jiǔ xiāng bù pà xiàngzi shēn)– “Good wine needs no bush”: An idiom meaning that true quality will be recognized even without advertisement.
2. 九九六 (jiǔ jiǔ liù)– 996: A modern slang term in China’s tech/work culture meaning 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., 6 days a week. Widely criticized for promoting burnout.
3. 人生模拟 (rénshēng mónǐ)– Life Simulation: Refers to a fictional or game-like simulation of one’s life path, commonly used in webnovels to depict alternative timelines or development routes.
4. 天外有天，人外有人 (tiān wài yǒu tiān, rén wài yǒu rén)– “There’s always a higher heaven and a greater man”: An idiom meaning there’s always someone more skilled than you.