Unblocking the Meridians

"Young Master Neji, you're finally back."

Hearing movement in the little courtyard, the girl ran out of the house.

The moment she saw Neji, she cried out in delight and hurried forward to fuss over him, taking off his outer robe. "Young Master Neji, would you like to bathe first? I've already heated the water. You can eat after you're done." As she spoke, she moved to help Neji change.

"Xiao Xi, I can do it myself." Seeing that Xiao Xi looked as though she had not slept all night, Neji quickly stopped her hand.

"Didn't I tell you I had something to do? You should have rested. How did you end up like this?"

After entering the room, Neji saw the bloodshot veins in Xiao Xi's Byakugan and reproached her with concern.

"Young Master wasn't home. I couldn't sleep," the girl said softly, lowering her head.

Seeing how uneasy the girl looked, Neji could not bear to scold her further, though he sighed inwardly.

As the maid assigned to care for Neji, her fortunes were inseparably tied to his. From the moment they met, their lives had been bound together.

But knowing that he would soon leave Konoha, Neji could not bear to leave her here alone.

A thought suddenly struck him, and he asked, "Xiao Xi, have you ever thought about becoming a ninja?"

"Huh? Becoming a ninja?" Xiao Xi blinked her wide eyes in confusion.

"Yes. Have you ever thought about becoming a ninja?" Neji asked seriously.

"I... I have, of course. I want to stand by Young Master Neji's side too. But during the clan test, they said my bloodline could only barely awaken the Byakugan and wasn't worth cultivating," Xiao Xi said dejectedly.

"Bloodline... Hmph." Neji scoffed.

"Come here. Sit here." Xiao Xi obediently walked over and sat cross-legged. She had never refused any of his requests.

Looking at the somewhat nervous Xiao Xi, Neji said with a smile, "Close your eyes."

Xiao Xi immediately squeezed her eyes shut. Then she suddenly felt Neji's hand press against her back. Before she could figure out what was happening, a warm current flowed from his palm through her entire body. Her exhausted body, warmed to the bone, could no longer hold on. Her head tilted, and she fell asleep.

Neji had no choice but to support her with his other hand as he continued examining Xiao Xi's extraordinary meridians and eight vessels. Her meridians were narrow and clogged shut.

As expected, she can't cultivate chakra. But fortunately, she has me.

As he spoke, he sent his own Qi into Xiao Xi's meridians, clearing away the blocked impurities while continuously widening her narrow channels. Layers of dark, greasy sweat gradually seeped from every pore of Xiao Xi's body, and the skin beneath slowly became fair and supple.

Neji had always hesitated over what to do with Xiao Xi. He had not wanted to drag her into the cruel world of ninjas, but even he could not rise above it himself. How could he presume to decide someone else's fate?

Moreover, it would be difficult to find anyone in this world who trusted him more than Xiao Xi did. He could not bear to abandon her, so after confirming her wishes once more, he decided to set her upon the path of a ninja.

Sunlight spilled across the courtyard as Neji slowly withdrew his power and sat in meditation to restore his Qi.

"Mmph~"

Xiao Xi slowly opened her eyes and felt utterly clear and refreshed. She could not help taking a deep breath. "Eh? What's that smell? It stinks..."

She then saw that her body was covered in some dark, sticky substance, and the foul stench was coming from it.

"Ah!" Xiao Xi cried out, scrambling to her feet and stumbling out of the room.

Neji opened his eyes, chuckled softly, and got up to take a shower as well.

A while later, the two sat in silence, shoveling down their food. Neji ate in huge mouthfuls without regard for his image. After going hungry for a day and a night, he feared nothing.

Blushing, Xiao Xi kept her head lowered and took small bites, but the rumbling in her stomach could not be ignored. She gradually picked up speed as well.

After the meal, Neji sprawled out as he watched Xiao Xi clear the table. "Xiao Xi, try gathering chakra again tonight. I've already opened your extraordinary meridians and eight vessels. Cultivation won't be a problem for you anymore."

Xiao Xi had already vaguely sensed something, and she exclaimed in delight, "Really, Young Master Neji? I... sob..."

Overwhelmed by joy, Xiao Xi suddenly choked up. Crying, she threw herself onto Neji. "Thank you, Young Master. Thank you for not abandoning me."

The youth's tall, slender frame had grown to match the young girl's developing figure, which was the only reason she did not knock him over.

Clinging to the youth as though she wanted to vent every grievance she had ever endured, the girl's tears poured without end. Before long, Neji's shoulder was soaked.

The girl's orchid-and-musk scent kept brushing against Neji's neck, making it itch so badly that he wanted to scratch it.

"Alright, alright, Xiao Xi. You've even wiped your snot on me." Neji helplessly patted the girl's head.

"Ah! I'm sorry, Young Master. Hurry and change your clothes. I'll wash them."

With tears still hanging on her face, Xiao Xi jumped off Neji in a fluster, grabbed the clothes he had taken off, and ran out with a red face.

Neji smiled and shook his head. He sat up properly, took out the First Hokage's Necklace, and muttered, "Come on, don't be shy. Eat up, eat up!" like a big bad wolf luring a little white rabbit.

But this little white rabbit had no intention of being polite. With a swish, the world spun around him, and Neji's consciousness was sucked into the abruptly opened Bronze Gate.

This time, Neji did not appear beneath the Heavenly Secrets Tower. Instead, he stood directly beside the Heavenly Secrets Spring.

The necklace in his palm flashed once before transforming into a vast, life-filled energy that poured into the spring's source.

The spring suddenly surged, its water overflowing the Dark Jade Platform and spreading beneath Neji's feet into a tranquil lake that reflected his tall, powerful body.

Suddenly, Neji noticed that his reflection beneath his feet had begun to move. It slowly assumed a fighting stance, and in the next instant, it demonstrated moves Neji knew well, swift as the wind and fierce as thunder.

The shadow began performing the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms. Neji saw countless variations within it, while flaws he had never noticed were corrected one by one.

"Four palms, eight palms... sixty-four palms." Neji watched intently, silently counting along.

"This is... the One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms... Good grief..."

Suddenly, Neji realized that after finishing the sixty-four palms, the shadow did not stop. Instead, it continued along the flow of the technique.

Though Neji had explored the One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms before, his understanding had ultimately been incomplete. He hurriedly committed this Main House secret palm technique to memory, while also taking up a stance and practicing alongside the shadow.

"Hahaha, there's even Rotation. Could this be a variation of Rotation—Mirror Reversal? Just by knowing the move and its principles, it can derive my own idea. That's downright heaven-defying."

Overjoyed, Neji continued stepping forward. His movements gradually synchronized with the shadow's until they finally became one.

Just then, the shadow suddenly leaped out from beneath his feet, taking physical form as it attacked Neji. Neji was startled at first, then shouted, "Good!"

With a crackling barrage of blows, the two figures clashed in the next instant.