I said “The evil spirit has been driven out.”
While I think this wouldn't happen since I believe proper yōkai-fearing villagers are actually protected, and getting caught even feeding one of these monkeys will mean a lot of unwanted attention from the powers-that-be, this scenario might still be compatible if we assume this is in the past.
The Myōren crew definitely had to do this. While there were yōkai who must be saved from extermination, there were also yōkai who kept painting a bigger target on their backs. Byakuren also had to conventionally protect humans, after all. They definitely killed a lot of yōkai who didn't fall in line and kept attacking humans.
