The next morning, Tom woke up to the sun literally burning his butt.
Not figuratively. Actual flames.
The blue-furred cat had built himself a little nest beside Shen An's bed, curling up contentedly until the morning sun's rays ignited his posterior. First came a small spark, then—whoosh!—Tom was reduced to a pile of ashes, leaving only his eyeballs intact. The two eyeballs looked at each other in confusion, as if pondering the unfairness of spontaneous feline combustion.
Jerry, alerted by the smell of charred cat, emerged from his mouse hole. Each step he took was heavy with dramatic weight.
A melancholic background tune inexplicably started playing.
"Ohhh~!"
Jerry covered his eyes in exaggerated grief, peeked once, then covered them again.
"Ohhh~!"
With theatrical sorrow, the little mouse arranged yellow flowers into a funeral wreath, then grabbed a bedsheet to wipe away nonexistent tears and snot—as if mourning his dearest friend.
Tom's floating eyeballs narrowed in irritation. This little rat was celebrating his demise?!
In a flash, the pile of ashes reassembled into a very much alive (and very angry) blue cat. Tom lunged—but Jerry was already zooming back into his hole, sticking out his tongue and wiggling his tail in挑衅.
Furious, Tom produced a saw and began cutting a square around the mouse hole. Unfortunately, his precision left much to be desired—the entire house collapsed into rubble.
Shen An, returning with breakfast, stared at the wreckage of his newly purchased home.
"...Tom. Jerry."
Tom shot out from the debris, dropping to his knees and clutching Shen An's hand with tear-filled eyes.
Shen An sighed. "Alright, alright. No punishment."
"But... can you two fix this?"
Jerry popped up, pounding his chest confidently while gesturing at a pile of nearby lumber.
"So you're saying with enough materials, you can rebuild it?"
Both nodded vigorously. Their construction skills were legendary—given enough wood, they could recreate the Imperial Palace brick-for-brick.
After breakfast amid the ruins, the trio set off to find lumber—though "set off" was generous. Every food stall along the way sent Tom and Jerry floating nose-first toward the aromas, leaving bystanders gaping at the levitating cat and mouse.
Two hours later, having single-handedly boosted the local economy through snack purchases, they attracted new attention.
"What an adorable cat! And that mouse! I must pet them!"
A voice like silver bells rang out. Shen An suppressed a groan. His pets were trouble magnets.
"You! Hand over that cat and mouse for my amusement!"
The speaker was a silver-haired girl of about twelve, her fine clothes marking noble status. Princess Xue Ke didn't wait for permission, making grabby hands at Tom—who dodged with infuriating ease.
After several failed attempts, Xue Ke stomped up to Shen An. "Do you know who I am?! Make your pets obey or suffer the consequences!"
Shen An raised an eyebrow. "Enlighten me."
The girl drew herself up proudly. "My elder brother is Crown Prince Xue Qinghe! I am Princess Xue Ke! Now tremble and surrender your cat!"
Shen An blinked. So Xue Qinghe had a little sister? Cute.
Time for a lesson.
Leaning in conspiratorially, he whispered, "But do you know who I am?"
Xue Ke faltered. Even royalty had to tread carefully around certain powers.
"W-who?"
Shen An grinned. "If you don't know... even better."
Flick!
His finger snapped against her forehead, leaving a red mark. "Run!"
Tom and Jerry exchanged gleeful looks before adding their own flicks to the princess's now-triply-marked brow.
By the time her stunned guards reacted, the trio were already vanishing into the crowd.
Rubbing her forehead, the teary-eyed princess shook a tiny fist.
"Meanies! My brother will spank your bottoms for this!"