Disaster, Little Dumpling’s Masterpiece

Little Dumpling had absolutely no interest in a wolf-tooth necklace or anything like that. He already wore a beautiful peace amulet around his neck, much prettier than any wolf-tooth. The only reason he wanted Snow Wolf's fang was because Snow Wolf had betrayed him.

At his age, Little Dumpling was just shy of the 'even dogs would avoid him' stage, but he was still endlessly energetic. One time in the little wooden cabin, he saw William Wang Jinling using cinnabar and ink to color a kite. Little Dumpling watched, itching to try it himself, and begged William to let him have a go.

William had always doted on Little Dumpling, and since the kite was made especially for him, it was only natural for William to lift him onto his lap, hold his soft little hand, and patiently teach him how to color it.

At this age, Little Dumpling still couldn't hold a brush steady. Rather than William teaching him, it was more like William holding his hand to paint. But Little Dumpling didn't see it that way—he was convinced it was all his own doing. Especially after William praised him: “Little Dumpling, you’re amazing! The kite looks so much prettier with your colors.”

Little Dumpling was bursting with pride. Back at the palace, he wanted to draw on everything he saw. When he spotted the pure-white Snow Wolf, his eyes lit up...

Little Dumpling was definitely a clever child. He knew Snow Wolf would never agree to let him paint, so he started plotting another way.

Little Dumpling told the servants he missed Simon Sun, and had them take him to find Simon.

That day, Simon Sun happened to be sorting medicinal herbs. Little Dumpling didn’t say why he was there—he just followed Simon around like a little shadow. Every time Simon looked back, Little Dumpling would flash him a big grin: “Brother Sixing…”

With so many uncles, brothers, and elders in the family, Little Dumpling never got the generations straight. He called people whatever came to mind, and everyone just answered to whatever he called them.

“Brother Sixing is really busy here. How about you go find Zhe Zhe to play?” Simon crouched in front of Little Dumpling, wanting to pinch his cheek, but realized his hands were covered in herbs and had to pull back.

Little Dumpling shook his head with a goofy grin: "I like Brother Sixing. Not leaving. I’m a good boy—I just want to hang out with Brother Sixing."

Not just Simon Sun—even Left Shore didn’t know how to say no to Little Dumpling. If Little Dumpling wanted to tag along, Simon could only let him, reminding a young apprentice to keep an eye on the kid.

Little Dumpling was perfectly behaved all day—nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Simon Sun had no idea that when Little Dumpling left, he swiped a hefty stash of anesthetic on his way out.

Little Dumpling didn’t know what anesthetic was, but he’d overheard Simon teaching the apprentice about dosages—how much would knock an adult out for two solid hours.

Once he heard that, Little Dumpling filed it away in his brain, and when Simon wasn’t looking, he snuck off with the medicine, mixed it in water, and gave it to Snow Wolf to drink.

Snow Wolf tasted something weird, but he couldn’t resist Little Dumpling’s puppy-dog eyes and adorable begging. Next thing you know, Snow Wolf was totally out for the count.

With Snow Wolf knocked out, Little Dumpling immediately called for the palace maids, told them to bring ink and cinnabar, and reminded them over and over: don’t you dare tell Serena Feng.

"Nobody’s allowed to tell my mom—I want to give her a surprise!" Little Dumpling clapped his tiny hands, beaming. The servants didn’t dare ruin his fun or spoil his surprise, so they did exactly as he said. That’s when things started to go sideways...

The surprise turned into a shock. The once-mighty Snow Wolf got turned into a scruffy mutt, streaked black and red. Worst of all, Little Dumpling used way too much water, so all Snow Wolf’s fur clumped together, and when the ink and cinnabar dried, it hardened into chunky mats.

"Awooo... awooo!" Snow Wolf woke up, realized something felt way off, turned his head—and saw his own sorry state. He let out a howl that could wake the dead...

“Dorian Owen, you absolute menace! Weren’t you supposed to be on the front lines? Why are you back here making trouble for me again?”

Snow Wolf’s first thought was Dorian Owen—no one else would bully him like this.

Howling miserably, Snow Wolf vowed to report this to Serena Feng and Nolan Dongling, so they could punish Dorian Owen in the name of justice.

With his fur all blotchy red and black, Snow Wolf staggered toward Serena Feng’s palace, and before he even reached the door, his pitiful howls echoed through the halls.

“Mama, come on! I painted Snow Wolf so pretty—let’s go show Young Master William and fly him like a kite!” Little Dumpling dashed in before Snow Wolf, grabbed Serena Feng’s sleeve, and tugged her outside, never mind if she was busy.

Young Master William said spring is perfect for outings and kite-flying. He and Mama were supposed to go see him, and now Little Dumpling wanted to ‘fly’ Snow Wolf—he’d already finished painting him!

Serena Feng was still trying to make sense of her son’s babble when Snow Wolf’s anguished howl interrupted her. She looked up and said, “Go check—what’s wrong with Snow Wolf?”

Ever since Dorian Owen returned to the barracks, Snow Wolf hadn’t howled so pitifully—no one in the palace dared bully him like this.

Before the servant sent to check could come back, Snow Wolf burst in with his chaotic new look, fixing Serena Feng with a tragic, pleading stare: Please avenge me!

“What happened here?” Serena Feng set down her pen, stood up, and took Little Dumpling with her to face Snow Wolf.

“Awooo…” Snow Wolf howled miserably, while Little Dumpling clapped with glee. “Mama, let’s go fly Snow Wolf—he can fly!”

“Fly Snow Wolf? Who told you wolves can fly?” Serena Feng finally caught on to her son’s meaning and couldn’t help but laugh as she asked him.

“Huh?” Little Dumpling blinked at Serena Feng, utterly confused—he’d painted Snow Wolf, so why couldn’t he fly? The question was too hard for him to understand.

“Awooo…” Snow Wolf let out a disgruntled howl, reminding Serena Feng not to forget his suffering—his predicament was way worse than Little Dumpling’s confusion.

Serena Feng coughed. “Snow Wolf, what happened to you? Who did this to your fur?” Someone must really hold a grudge to dye all his white fur like that—she wondered if it could even be washed out.

“Woo...wooo.” Snow Wolf let a single wolf tear fall—It had to be Dorian Owen, that idiot. No one else would pull a stunt like this.

Just as Snow Wolf finished expressing his outrage, Little Dumpling let go of Serena Feng’s question, grabbed her hem, and struck a proud pose, clearly angling for praise.

“Mama, isn’t Snow Wolf beautiful? I painted him! Pretty cool, huh?”

His big eyes blinked expectantly, all but shouting: Hurry up and praise me! I’m even better than Young Master William!

“You did this?”

“Awooo…”

Serena Feng and Snow Wolf spoke at the same time, but Snow Wolf was so stunned he froze, paws stiff, and then collapsed in a dramatic faint.

Too humiliating! He’d actually been outsmarted by Little Dumpling—he’d never be able to face his wolf ancestors again!

As for Serena Feng, she was completely floored that her son had managed to ‘color’ Snow Wolf. Once she got the full story of how Little Dumpling pulled it off, she nearly fainted herself.

When did her son get so ‘capable’? He’d planned everything in advance, threatened the palace maids about keeping his ‘surprise’ secret—he was way too clever!

A kid this crafty definitely needed some discipline, or he’d never learn his lesson.

So Little Dumpling was punished.

But after the punishment, Little Dumpling decided he’d only been caught because Snow Wolf showed up too soon and ruined the surprise. If Snow Wolf hadn’t appeared early, Mama would’ve been happy, not mad. So...

Snow Wolf’s teeth were in trouble!