diff --git a/lightrag/kg/neo4j_impl.py b/lightrag/kg/neo4j_impl.py
index 05deb0a9..cf3c024f 100644
--- a/lightrag/kg/neo4j_impl.py
+++ b/lightrag/kg/neo4j_impl.py
@@ -176,11 +176,17 @@ class Neo4JStorage(BaseGraphStorage):
         # Noe4J handles persistence automatically
         pass
 
-    async def _ensure_label(self, label: str) -> str:
+    def _ensure_label(self, label: str) -> str:
         """Ensure a label is valid
 
         Args:
             label: The label to validate
+            
+        Returns:
+            str: The cleaned label
+            
+        Raises:
+            ValueError: If label is empty after cleaning
         """
         clean_label = label.strip('"')
         if not clean_label:
@@ -201,7 +207,7 @@ class Neo4JStorage(BaseGraphStorage):
             ValueError: If node_id is invalid
             Exception: If there is an error executing the query
         """
-        entity_name_label = await self._ensure_label(node_id)
+        entity_name_label = self._ensure_label(node_id)
         async with self._driver.session(
             database=self._DATABASE, default_access_mode="READ"
         ) as session:
@@ -233,8 +239,8 @@ class Neo4JStorage(BaseGraphStorage):
             ValueError: If either node_id is invalid
             Exception: If there is an error executing the query
         """
-        entity_name_label_source = await self._ensure_label(source_node_id)
-        entity_name_label_target = await self._ensure_label(target_node_id)
+        entity_name_label_source = self._ensure_label(source_node_id)
+        entity_name_label_target = self._ensure_label(target_node_id)
 
         async with self._driver.session(
             database=self._DATABASE, default_access_mode="READ"
@@ -269,7 +275,7 @@ class Neo4JStorage(BaseGraphStorage):
             ValueError: If node_id is invalid
             Exception: If there is an error executing the query
         """
-        entity_name_label = await self._ensure_label(node_id)
+        entity_name_label = self._ensure_label(node_id)
         async with self._driver.session(
             database=self._DATABASE, default_access_mode="READ"
         ) as session:
@@ -314,7 +320,7 @@ class Neo4JStorage(BaseGraphStorage):
             ValueError: If node_id is invalid
             Exception: If there is an error executing the query
         """
-        entity_name_label = await self._ensure_label(node_id)
+        entity_name_label = self._ensure_label(node_id)
 
         async with self._driver.session(
             database=self._DATABASE, default_access_mode="READ"
@@ -363,8 +369,8 @@ class Neo4JStorage(BaseGraphStorage):
         Returns:
             int: Sum of the degrees of both nodes
         """
-        entity_name_label_source = await self._ensure_label(src_id)
-        entity_name_label_target = await self._ensure_label(tgt_id)
+        entity_name_label_source = self._ensure_label(src_id)
+        entity_name_label_target = self._ensure_label(tgt_id)
 
         src_degree = await self.node_degree(entity_name_label_source)
         trg_degree = await self.node_degree(entity_name_label_target)
@@ -393,8 +399,8 @@ class Neo4JStorage(BaseGraphStorage):
             Exception: If there is an error executing the query
         """
         try:
-            entity_name_label_source = await self._ensure_label(source_node_id)
-            entity_name_label_target = await self._ensure_label(target_node_id)
+            entity_name_label_source = self._ensure_label(source_node_id)
+            entity_name_label_target = self._ensure_label(target_node_id)
 
             async with self._driver.session(
                 database=self._DATABASE, default_access_mode="READ"
@@ -484,7 +490,7 @@ class Neo4JStorage(BaseGraphStorage):
             Exception: If there is an error executing the query
         """
         try:
-            node_label = await self._ensure_label(source_node_id)
+            node_label = self._ensure_label(source_node_id)
 
             query = f"""MATCH (n:`{node_label}`)
                     OPTIONAL MATCH (n)-[r]-(connected)
@@ -543,7 +549,7 @@ class Neo4JStorage(BaseGraphStorage):
             node_id: The unique identifier for the node (used as label)
             node_data: Dictionary of node properties
         """
-        label = await self._ensure_label(node_id)
+        label = self._ensure_label(node_id)
         properties = node_data
 
         async def _do_upsert(tx: AsyncManagedTransaction):
@@ -591,8 +597,8 @@ class Neo4JStorage(BaseGraphStorage):
         Raises:
             ValueError: If either source or target node does not exist
         """
-        source_label = await self._ensure_label(source_node_id)
-        target_label = await self._ensure_label(target_node_id)
+        source_label = self._ensure_label(source_node_id)
+        target_label = self._ensure_label(target_node_id)
         edge_properties = edge_data
 
         # Check if both nodes exist
@@ -966,7 +972,7 @@ class Neo4JStorage(BaseGraphStorage):
         Args:
             node_id: The label of the node to delete
         """
-        label = await self._ensure_label(node_id)
+        label = self._ensure_label(node_id)
 
         async def _do_delete(tx: AsyncManagedTransaction):
             query = f"""
@@ -1024,8 +1030,8 @@ class Neo4JStorage(BaseGraphStorage):
             edges: List of edges to be deleted, each edge is a (source, target) tuple
         """
         for source, target in edges:
-            source_label = await self._ensure_label(source)
-            target_label = await self._ensure_label(target)
+            source_label = self._ensure_label(source)
+            target_label = self._ensure_label(target)
 
             async def _do_delete_edge(tx: AsyncManagedTransaction):
                 query = f"""