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

Chapter 42: Lake Master's Special Training

"No, that's not the case... I'm a man, how could I have any feelings for another man?"

"Then why are you avoiding Miss Hagi, who often invites you to meet?"

Ayaka asked this question.

"No...that's another matter."

Ye Ming didn't know how to answer, and she didn't dare explain Xiao Hagi's intentions to her sister.

"I see."

Ayaka sighed and shook her head.

"Okay, I understand the situation... Then, brother, please promise me that you will keep your distance from Baijie from now on."

"Keep your distance?"

Ye Ming muttered to himself, chewing on these words.

"I...I know~"

She assured her stepsister.

"From now on, I will keep my distance from Baijie."

……

At dusk, old man Matsudaira came back and brought bad news.

"We didn't find the Sword Saint. The hut he left there has long been abandoned. I met a local mountain dweller nearby, and he said the old man left three years ago."

"Then there's no way."

Ye Ming also smiled bitterly.

"But I still broke into the house and investigated."

Matsudaira Inomaro handed over a letter and put it in the hands of his young master.

"This should be the letter left by the 'Sword Saint' Kibune Kyōunsai. It specifically states that it should be delivered to someone from the Yuejialuo family. I'm guessing it's for you, young master..."

"Eh? Give it to me."

Ye Ming took the letter with a puzzled look on her face. She opened it, took out the letter paper, and then read it silently.

After reading it, the girl frowned and looked embarrassed.

"Master, what's written in the letter?"

Old man Matsudaira asked.

"Written by..."

Ye Ming was a little hesitant, but he still told Ayaka and Matsudaira frankly.

"Master Kuang Yunzhai said in the letter that he had restored the two family heirloom swords that my father, the previous head of the family, had entrusted to him, namely the 'True World King' and the 'Mizujin Huofei Sword'."

"Isn't this a good thing?"

Ayaka looked confused.

Ye Ming smiled at his sister, but there was a hint of reluctance and gloom in the smile.

"He also said that, according to the previous family head's instructions, the two precious swords were sent to the abbot of Xingyuan Temple, Shan Dao, and entrusted to this monk for safekeeping."

She continued, “However, the precious sword will be passed on to the new head of the Yuejia Luo family… Lord Kuang Yunsai said in the letter that when I receive the letter, the communication shikigami he prepared will be activated.

The messenger shikigami will reach the other two heirs to the Yuejia Luo family besides me. They will also receive letters. At that time, all three of them will go to Yuanxing Temple and duel in Yuanxing Temple according to the rules of the clan. The winner will obtain the two precious swords and become the true head of the clan. The loser must leave the clan.

"W-What are you talking about?"

Ayaka suppressed her inner shock, and after catching her breath, she asked, "Besides my brother, where else is there an heir to the Yuejialuo clan?"

"some."

Inomaru Matsudaira made a low sound.

"The eldest daughter of the branch Yanwu family is actually the young master's cousin by blood. Her father is the brother of the previous head of the family. According to the customs of the Yuejialuo family, Miss Ba is qualified to participate in the competition for the head of the family."

Then, the old man's voice became a little distressed.

"Besides this, there is another person, that is your biological brother, Miss Ayaka, and the young master's sworn brother, Lord Kukutsu Ichiki. He is the successor recognized by the former head of the family."

Elder Matsudaira paused and said, "After all, the previous head of the family only had one child. Considering that if the young master died in infancy, he would need an heir, the old master decided to adopt Ikki-sama."

"But, brother... if he were to become one of the Twelve Guardians, wouldn't he have already become one of the Twelve Guardians?"

Ayaka's face turned a little ugly.

"It's unlikely that he will ever come back to succeed the head of the family. Besides, I don't think my eldest brother really has such thoughts. When our father passed away, and the territory was occupied by demons, he didn't care and never helped us."

Deep down, she had a lot of resentment towards her biological brother.

The Yuejialuo family has done their utmost to help the two siblings who lost their loved ones. However, the elder brother has received almost no return... It seems that the entire Yuejialuo family is just a stepping stone for him to rise to prominence in the court.

"Ayaka-sama, you are absolutely right."

Elder Matsudaira gave a bitter laugh and said, "But, could it be possible that, say, Ikki-sama doesn't intend to become the head of the family, but the imperial court wants Ikki-sama to do so?"

Ayaka opened her mouth in a daze.

Matsudaira Inomaro lowered his voice, "The Imperial Court is wary of renowned exorcist families across the land. Our Tsukigara family in Northern Mutsu is indeed loyal to the Imperial Court, but after the Kurohime family in Southern Mutsu eliminated another renowned family, the Suzuki clan, they have become the most powerful faction in Mutsu."

"Now, I have become the son-in-law of the Kurohime family."

Ye Ming dropped his shoulders helplessly.

"If the Tsukigara clan, a prominent family in northern Mutsu, also completely sided with the Kurohimeyama family, the imperial court might worry that the Kurohimeyama family would completely gain power in Mutsu, surpassing their own family and becoming the true powerhouse of Mutsu."

"Therefore, Ikki-sama may be instructed by the imperial court to seize the position of family head. If he becomes the family head, the Kurohimeyama clan will no longer be able to legitimately control the North Mutsu region."

Elder Song Ping said solemnly: "Of course, this is also something we should avoid as much as possible."

"Then, what should we do now?"

Ayaka asked anxiously.

"Anyway, let's go to Gango-ji Temple first."

Mr. Matsudaira came to this conclusion.

...Four days later, after a long detour, the group was finally about to reach Yuanxing Temple.

"Should we be able to reach the Weeping Mountain where the Yuanxing Temple is located today?"

He sat on the ox cart at the back, observing the scenery on the roadside with his side eyes.

After leaving Snowyaksha Lake, the demonic aura in the surrounding areas gradually increased. The uninhabited wilderness was a very dangerous environment for ordinary people in this world.

Yuanxing Temple is a temple built deep in the mountains. Its first abbot was a monk with great magical powers.

He sealed the big monster in the mountain. In order to prevent the monster from reviving again, he built an ancient temple in the local area to suppress the monster.

The sun has set.

In this season, it gets dark in the blink of an eye.

The setting sun vanished in an instant, and the curtain of heaven and earth turned to night. The cold, quiet moonlight cast down, giving people the illusion that the entire world had turned into a foreign matter. It was a night filled with evil spirits.

Everyone also became quite vigilant. After nightfall, monsters would become more active. It was easy to be attacked when traveling at night, not to mention that everyone in this group had spiritual powers and was easily targeted by monsters.

"No more running around."

Elder Matsudaira suggested, "We could even go up the mountain tomorrow morning. If we go any further, we're likely to encounter a monster targeting us... I remember there's a shrine up ahead, built by the mountain folk. It's dedicated to the gods Sai and Daozu. We could rest there for the night."

Shrines are generally places where gods are enshrined. Sai gods and Daozu gods are both "road-guarding gods". The so-called "Sai" means to stop the plague gods and evil spirits from other places at places such as village entrances, slopes, mountain tops, crossroads and bridgeheads.

According to the old man's plan, everyone arrived at a very small shrine. After a simple offering, they pasted barrier talismans around the shrine and tied red strings with bells to weave a defensive barrier.

After a whole day's journey, most people went to bed early, leaving only a few people to keep watch.

Bai Jie stayed on guard for the second half of the night. He took this opportunity to find a secluded place and sit down.

After looking around and confirming that there was no one around, he breathed a sigh of relief and pressed his left sleeve with his right hand.

"Come out."

He muttered quietly.

...chirp.

A faint chirping sound came from the sleeve.

Then, a small, slender animal poked its head out.

The little animal looks very strange, with a wrinkled trunk and yellow and black fur.

It carefully poked its head out of its sleeve to explore the surroundings, its small, long nose sniffing the air, its pupils filled with curiosity about the world.

"...In this way, I can be considered a person with a Shikigami."

He looked at the young dream-eating tapir hidden in his sleeve and smiled.

After a few days, the stone egg finally hatched successfully.

What emerged from the stone egg was a small animal smaller than a mouse, the dream-eating tapir.

The origin of this monster may be related to a spiritual beast called "Boqi" in ancient China.

Birch was born with the ability to eat dreams and relieve disasters. It is possible that the dream-eating tapir is the descendant of the spiritual beast Birch. However, there is also a saying that Birch is a spiritual bird and is not of the same species as the dream-eating tapir.

"Next, I'm going to take a nap, little tapir."

He named the dream-eating tapir "Little Tapir" and conveyed his orders to it.

"...I hope you can help me enter the 'Dust Dream Land', and preferably connect me to the phantom Yamatai Kingdom. Can you do that?"

The little tapir nodded and quickly turned into a cloud of smoke, which was inhaled into Baijie's nose.

A wave of sleepiness came over him, his expression relaxed, his brain became sleepy, his whole body felt tired and weak, and he closed his eyes.

Darkness engulfed his consciousness.

……

"Hmm, it seems to be going well."

A woman's voice rang in my ears, but it was so far away that my consciousness seemed to be flying away.

Suddenly, Baijie smelled a woman's body fragrance. He suddenly woke up and found himself lying in a familiar tea room.

"W-what's going on?"

The moment he turned over and stood up, he found himself lying on the woman's lap.

"No, that's not right... This isn't the Phantom Yamatai Kingdom... Lord Lake Master, why are you here?"

He couldn't help but look at the tall woman beside him.

She was dressed like an oiran, wearing a brightly colored kimono that opened up like a blooming flower, revealing her fair skin and proud bust.

"Kukuku..."

The lake master, Snow Yashahime, smiled with her bright red lips.

"Young man, isn't it a bit too early to want to enter the Phantom Yamatai Kingdom now? That place isn't open to outsiders casually. So, even if you contract the Dream-Eating Tapir, you won't be able to successfully connect to that dreamland. At most, you can only connect to the dream mirage here."

Her lips were curved in an arc that reminded people of a cunning fox.

"Excuse me, young man, but could you just come and stay with an old man like me?"

"B-but."

Bai Jie had not expected this situation to happen, and an expression of wanting to cry but not being able to did so appeared on his face - then his preparations would have been wasted. If he had known that it was in the treasure house, he would not have chosen the Night Tapir Egg, but would have chosen props and equipment with more practical effects.

"Don't look so sad. Are you so reluctant to accompany a great god like me?"

The peerless beauty, dressed like a gorgeous courtesan, held a pipe in one hand and flicked the ash casually.

"I know your intention is to enter Yamatai and try to improve your weak strength... In that case, how about I train you and help you increase your strength? This is training from a god himself, and it's much more convenient than trying to figure it out on your own."

"Train me?"

"Just think of it as the old man worrying too much. Also, the look of misfortune on your face is too bad. We can't just leave it alone."

The lake owner, Snow Yashahime, covered her mouth with her sleeve.

"Don't worry, as long as you accept my 'special training', even a monkey can easily become a powerful exorcist. Oh hehehe..."

　Thanks to reader Wu 00000 for the tip, and everyone for the votes and support...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)