Just as Gungun was about to explain to Houtu what "there's no such thing as a free lunch" meant, her sudden remark left the entire bear dumbfounded. You never thought I was that kind of bear? What kind of bear am I?
"Lady Ancestral Witch, what... do you mean by that?" Gungun asked Houtu blankly.
"Nothing much. Gungun, you look a little embarrassed. Is it because you taught the Witch Race a dance rather than writing, and that makes you feel shy?" Houtu said softly.
"Uh... no. What's wrong with dancing? Dance lessons cost far more than academic lessons. What would I have to be embarrassed about? Lady Ancestral Witch, you must have misread my expression!" After a moment of silence, Gungun answered with a thoroughly earnest look.
"Dance lessons? Cost?" Hearing two unfamiliar terms, Houtu looked puzzled.
"Oh, I mean payment. In other words... the karmic debt to be repaid. Learning a dance incurs far more karmic debt than learning writing, so dancing is naturally more advanced than writing. What would I have to feel shy about?" As he spoke, Gungun moved Houtu's hand off his head, stood up, dusted off his backside, then turned and ran.
"Lady Ancestral Witch, I've finished everything you asked me to do! The witches and demons have a million-year truce, so please give me a hundred thousand years off, too! Don't make me work during those hundred thousand years! Thank you, and may a good witch enjoy lifelong peace!" Gungun shouted as he dashed away, vanishing from sight in no time.
"Heh, what a nimble fatty. A hundred thousand years off... oh, very well. I'll let you rest for a hundred thousand years." Houtu could not help chuckling at his words.
Then she, too, rose from the ground, though some doubts still lingered