The Girl's New Environment

"Oh, I accidentally said too much." Uchiha Jie suddenly stopped his rambling.

Because the carriage was no longer bumping and the road underfoot had become smooth, voices from other people began to be heard from time to time. Some were chatting about daily life, others were discussing various interesting anecdotes.

Lishan Village was nestled beside a hillside covered in oak trees. It had mountains and water, lush forests, and a small area of hot springs at the foot of the mountain.

The main industry here was wood processing, which was usually transported to the Land of Water after processing. Lumberjacks carrying axes could be seen everywhere along the road, as well as horse-drawn carts pulling logs.

However, thanks to the natural hot springs here, this small village was also a good tourist destination.

"Wow, it's so expensive," Hinata mumbled, looking at the price tag hanging at the hot spring inn.

The prices here were much higher than those at the hot spring inns in Konohagakure. She silently calculated in her heart that the cost of staying here for one day was equivalent to dozens of bowls of ramen, or even several meals of grilled meat.

Yet, Uchiha Jie put on a pained expression in front of the shopkeeper, but paid for several days of accommodation without hesitation. He led Hinata, dressed in red, looking very much like a father taking his child on a trip.

Taking the room key tag, they found the room and pushed the door open. Hinata suddenly felt that the price was worth it.

It was a suite with two bedrooms with soft beds, and a living room with tatami mats. Next to the living room was a huge floor-to-ceiling window. Outside the window was a small courtyard. White stones in the courtyard enclosed a hot spring emitting a faint white mist. It was a hot spring exclusively for this room.

Next to the hot spring was a small room where one could wash, bathe, and use the toilet.

"We'll stay here for a while. I need to teach you some things to protect yourself, so that we can continue our journey."

Uchiha Jie said as he took out scrolls of various sizes and began to arrange the room.

Hinata stood cautiously in the living room, her feet in wooden clogs seeming to have nowhere to go. She watched Uchiha Jie busy himself in the room, changing the hotel's bed sheets and pillowcases, and putting different clothes into the wardrobes of the two bedrooms.

"Teach me?" she asked softly.

"Yes, teach you."

Uchiha Jie placed both their shoes on the shoe rack by the door, then took out Hinata's dirty clothes from yesterday from a scroll and threw them all into the washing machine next to the bathroom.

After the washing machine started running, he continued, "Although I'm not very good at Gentle Fist, I've been with Yue for so long. I may not have eaten pork, but I've seen pigs run, right?"

As he spoke, he took out two more scrolls.

"This is!" Hyuga Hinata exclaimed.

The scrolls Uchiha Jie had just taken out were all standard storage scrolls sold at Konohagakure's ninja tool shop. But these two were different. They had the Hyuga Clan's emblem, and the scrolls were whiter than ordinary storage scrolls.

These were high-quality items exclusively supplied to the Hyuga family.

Hinata carefully took the scrolls Uchiha Jie tossed over and eagerly opened them.

"This is Sister Yue's handwriting."

The scrolls were filled with dense small characters, with exquisite simple diagrams around the edges. The little figures in the diagrams performed various Gentle Fist movements. This was a training log for Gentle Fist.

"Mhm, these scrolls were written by her when she was thirteen," Uchiha Jie said with a smile.

Then he became serious and instructed, "You read the first page first, then practice in the courtyard for an hour, and then go wash up."

"I'll go buy you breakfast."

Hinata gave a small "Mm" and suddenly felt that the person who had abducted her wasn't so bad after all.

He knew Yue, and knew a lot about the Hyuga family. He wasn't as strict with her as Father, and most importantly, he let her eat her fill.

She then looked at the room he had prepared for her, the one closer to the small courtyard. The various decorations inside dazzled her.

On the windowsill sat a pot of elegant orchids, and two jasmine plants about to bloom. The white flower buds had already swelled to the size of her little finger.

The bed sheets were pure white, but the pillows and comforter had been changed to pink. Leaning against the headboard with the pillows was a large white bear plush toy, taller than her.

She had seen this doll in Konoha's commercial street before. It cost a lot of money, and even the usually generous Ino had balked at the price.

On the bedside table was a small night light shaped like a flower, the same style as the large lamp hanging overhead. Below the bedside table was a pair of fluffy pink slippers, and under the slippers was a light brown carpet.

To the side was a small desk with several books on it, all textbooks from the ninja academy. However, the books were old, and the familiar large book, "Will of Fire," was missing.

Next to the desk was a small shelf with some storybooks. She had only heard Sakura and other female classmates excitedly discuss the titles of those books. Such books would never be found in her home.

She opened the wardrobe again. Inside were clothes Uchiha Jie had prepared for her, colorful and in various styles, but none of her original thick jacket and baggy pants.

Hyuga Hinata chose a brand new outfit, pale purple with delicate white lace trim. She also picked out a pair of white socks, also with cute lace trim. She folded them neatly and placed them on the bed. Then she took off her wooden clogs, picked up the scroll Uchiha Jie had given her, and sat cross-legged in front of the small desk.

Hyuga Yue's handwriting did not resemble a girl's at all; each stroke was as sharp as a blade.

The first page of the scroll was the basics of Eight Trigrams Palms. There weren't many words, and Hinata had already learned them. However, after reading the scroll, she felt that the content was completely different from what her father had taught her before.

Then she went to the small courtyard. Uchiha Jie had placed a small wooden dummy there. She struck a pose and began to practice, throwing punches and chops.

But no matter how she practiced, it felt completely different from her usual training.

Uchiha Jie returned quickly, carrying several bags, all filled with food. Some still carried a faint aroma of cooking, steaming hot, and the fragrance instantly filled the entire room.

But upon entering, he found Hinata standing blankly in front of the wooden dummy.

"What's wrong? Why are you just standing there?" he asked curiously, taking out the food from the bags one by one. "Did you encounter any problems during your practice?"

"Th-that, I'll practice hard!" Hinata looked up when she heard his voice and struck a pose again.

As soon as she threw a punch, she realized she had hit something soft.

It was Uchiha Jie's hand.

He tilted his head and said to Hinata, "Are you practicing like this because Hyuga Hiashi taught you?"