Help! I changed the gender of the male protagonist in the yandere game

These types of monsters are relatively weak during their Yamawaro (mountain child) stage. Once they reach adulthood, they transform into incredibly strong Yamanba (mountain men).

Generally, both Yamawaro and Yamanba do not eat people. However, Yamanba raid villages. They move in packs, actively invading villages to steal food and capture women, forcing them to bear children. Anyone who dares to interfere with the Yamanba risks being torn to pieces. Their track record is appalling.

Nevertheless, both Yamawaro and Yamanba are monsters with weak demonic power, incapable of breaking through powerful barriers that operate using the earth's ley line energy and maintain their effectiveness for extended periods.

“As long as the barrier remains intact, no monster could have infiltrated. Conversely… Miss Yemei must have walked out on her own.”

“But our village is surrounded by wooden fences. Yemei is just a twelve-year-old girl who only turned twelve last month. The main gate is closed at night. There's no way she could have run away, right?”

“What if there's a gap in the fence, like a hole that a child could squeeze through?”

Baigui said calmly, “Our people have already gone to inspect the fence. I believe we'll have an answer soon.”

This book is first published on 𝕥𝕨𝕜𝕒𝕟.𝕔𝕠𝕞.

Indeed, he had barely finished speaking when a low-ranking ninja responsible for inspecting the barrier rushed in to inform everyone that they had discovered a hidden hole in the fence.

…

“This is basically a dog hole. It was hidden behind this large tree, so it's no wonder the adults didn't notice it at first.”

“Yes, it's so small that only a child could crawl through.”

Baigui and Zaicang discussed the situation.

“It seems we can confirm… Miss Yemei ran away on her own.”

“B-but?”

Village Chief Jiding looked puzzled. “Why would the child do that?”

Baigui glanced behind him at the villagers standing a short distance away, their clothes ragged, arms crossed, and secretly wearing mocking expressions as if they were watching a show. He spoke quietly.

“Where I come from, Yamawaro monsters trick children into playing with them, luring them into the mountains. Those children who are lured away never return…”

“That's certainly a known phenomenon,” Zaicang explained. “Yamawaro monsters are cunning. They target children who are isolated, not valued by adults, or ostracized, and then lure them into the deep mountains.”

He cleared his throat. “Of course, that's not the main point. Lord Jiding, we understand the situation. We'll take people into the mountains to search for Miss Yemei now… Fortunately, she's only twelve years old and probably hasn't even started menstruating yet. The Yamawaro shouldn't mistreat her; they might even treat her well.”

“Ah… this?”

Village Chief Jiding didn't understand at first, but suddenly realized the implication, and his face turned quite unpleasant.

“We can't waste any time.”

Zaicang made a decision.

“We'll go up the mountain to rescue her now.”

…

Yamawaro that haven't evolved into Yamanba are only the size of children. Even adults can defeat them.

However, underestimating these monsters can be a mistake.

Their intelligence, strength, and physique are only at the level of children.

Conversely, that means they possess the same intelligence, strength, and cunning as children.

Yamawaro don't fight alone when they encounter enemies; they fight as a team.

They don't forge iron tools, but they make simple stone axes and spears. Additionally, they set traps.

Even if ordinary people arm themselves with hoes, pitchforks, and other farm tools and venture into the caves where Yamawaro hide, they are likely to never return.

Hunters who hunt in the mountains are afraid of encountering Yamawaro, even alone. These monsters throw stones.

Stones are readily available, and even if a child throws one, it can injure an adult.

After entering the mountain, Chunin Zaicang used divination techniques and “tracking charms” to locate a Yamawaro cave.

In fact, because the caves where Yamawaro live are hidden deep in the mountains, it's difficult to find their exact location even with tracking charms.

This mountain area is covered with several peaks, and the sea of trees formed by the forest is like a maze. Even if you concentrate a lot of manpower and throw it into the mountains, it's like looking for a needle in a haystack. In fact, it's impossible to find the Yamawaro's nest without any clues.

Previously, the adults who went out to search for Yemei had no idea which direction the Yamawaro had left from.

Yamawaro are similar to monkeys; they can fly through the trees without touching the ground and approach villages.

Slightly larger Yamawaro can carry a little girl away from the trees.

On the other hand, the hunters in the village also kept hunting dogs, but the Yamawaro seemed to have taught the girl how to avoid the dogs.

When she ran away from home, she must have sprinkled special herbs on herself to eliminate her scent so that even animals with sensitive noses would lose their sense of smell.

This made it extremely important to figure out why the little girl Yemei left. After knowing that she had left the village on her own, the search became simpler.

The low-ranking ninjas followed the “dog hole” and found traces of Yemei leaving in the forest closest to the village—a line of footprints.

She climbed a large tree, and the footprints disappeared at the base of the tree.

…

“We're really grateful for your deduction, Baigui… Otherwise, it would have taken a lot of effort just to find this cave.”

The group arrived in front of a cave in the mountains.

The paper swallow that had transformed from the tracking charm flew here and burned into a pile of ashes.

“We've found the cave, but we can't just barge in.”

Baigui squatted down while talking to Zaicang and touched the footprints on the ground with his hand. They were similar to the footprints of a large ape.

“There should be a Yamanba… inside. What should we do?”

“Baigui, why don't you tell us what you think?”

Zaicang looked at him seriously.

“What I think…”

Baigui sighed. “Considering 'a wily rabbit has three burrows,' Yamawaro caves often have several entrances. We should split into several groups. One group should attract the enemy's attention at the main entrance, preferably drawing out the Yamanba.

Another group should be responsible for guarding the cave entrances on the back mountain, and at the same time, send people to sneak into the cave and rescue the child named Yemei.”

“I'll take responsibility for attracting the Yamanba.”

Zaicang volunteered for the most dangerous job.

“I'll use a barrier charm to seal off this entrance and attract the Yamanba. You and the other low-ranking ninjas will be responsible for entering the cave to rescue the person.”

“Is that okay… There might be more than one Yamanba in the cave?”

“Even if I face two, I have a good chance of winning.”

Zaicang gave him a deep look.

“I'm more worried about the new recruits besides you; they're all novices.”

After the spider demon nest subjugation battle, more than a dozen low-ranking ninjas died.

To prevent a shortage of personnel, a new batch of novices was added.

This batch of novices only received two to three months of training. This amount of time is not enough to meet the standards, and it's not practical to rely on these novices.

“I'll be responsible for their actions.”

Baigui had no choice but to bite the bullet and take on this task.

“I'll protect Miss Yemei's safety.”

Baigui thought that if this side quest followed the same path as the game he was familiar with, then his success rate could be guaranteed.

…

A Yamanba with monstrous strength and powerful arms can easily send fully armed soldiers wearing armor flying several meters away, crushing their internal organs.

Wild boars and bears in the mountains are the food of this type of monster.

Fighting it single-handedly with a human body is simply suicide.

Fortunately, exorcists are people with “supernatural powers.”

Chunin Zaicang was not afraid of the Yamanba lurking in the cave. He released a powerful spiritual energy wavelength, attracting the Yamanba's attention while gathering flames on his hands.

“Burning Body” is a simple and effective supernatural ability. Zaicang can generate high-temperature flames on any part of his body.

It might be a bit difficult to deal with great demons, but he has a great chance of winning against Yamanba, which are formed demons.

‘The demonic energy is moving, and it's very fast?’

Zaicang stared at the darkness in the depths of the cave, a slight smile on his lips.

Suddenly, things in the dim vision rapidly closed the distance.

A violent chill ran down the Chunin's back.

Ahead, a gust of wind howled as if cutting through the air, and a huge figure rushed out of the cave. The intense demonic energy almost made him nauseous.

“Come on!”

He clasped his hands together, and flames shot out like blades.

…

“C-can this really stop those Yamawaro?”

“Yes, once the talisman is attached, the barrier will seal off the entrance. It's difficult for weak monsters like Yamawaro to pass through here.”

Facing these rookie-level low-ranking ninjas, Baigui could only explain patiently.

“Your job is very simple. If any Yamawaro try to escape and run into the transparent barrier, shoot them with arrows or stab them with the spears in your hands to prevent them from escaping.”

“C-can this barrier completely block those monsters?”

Another newcomer asked in a low voice, trying to appear calm, but his trembling shoulders betrayed him.

“There's no problem. The barrier only prevents monsters; it doesn't affect you. Arrows and spears can penetrate through it. Kill as many of these miscellaneous demons as possible on the outside.”

Baigui said earnestly, “Zaicang and I are responsible for the front and back. Your job is just these things, but don't abandon your posts or run away.”

He pointed to the back of his neck.

“You all know that the main family's exorcists have placed cursed seals here. These are cursed seals with strong effects. Once you choose to run away, this curse called 'Frog Transformation' will be activated.”

Baigui explained to these newcomers.

“After this curse is activated, your bodies will be forcibly transformed into frogs—no, you will painfully die in the process of turning into frogs. It's a very evil curse.”

He sighed. “I've seen the result of the curse being activated. The flesh is compressed and peeled off into the shape of a frog! Honestly, if I had to choose, I'd rather commit suicide than die as a frog.”

After Baigui finished saying these frightening words to the many young low-ranking ninjas, he picked up his ninja sword and amulets and slowly stood up.

“I'll be back soon. Guard this place well.”

After saying these words, he walked towards the depths of the cave, which looked like the open jaws of a beast.