Chapter 52 - 44: Intense! Desperate Counterattack

In an instant, a tidal wave seemed to tear through the courtroom, crashing over the crowd and submerging everyone.

That’s right.

The principle of special justifiable defense dictates that when your life is threatened by a violent assault, you may disregard the condition of proportionality!

You have the right to unlimited counterattacks. As long as an objective threat to your life exists, you can take the offensive—even if the attacker isn’t fighting back. Kill them, and you won’t be held liable!

"The deceased Li Erniu’s violent act escalated to assault with intent to kill, meeting the prerequisite for special justifiable defense."

"Wang Qiang’s actions constitute justifiable defense. He should be acquitted!"

Xu De took a deep breath and slowly sat back down.

His words were well-reasoned and cited legal precedent, but alas...

"Rejected!"

At the prosecutor’s table, Hu Guang, who had been silent all this time, suddenly got a cold, severe look in his eyes. He rose and stared directly at the defense counsel as he spoke:

"To the defense: our argument is centered on that blank thirty seconds after Wang Qiang got out of the car!"

"Not on what happened after the victim snatched the knife!"

Thirty seconds...

’Those damned thirty seconds again!’

Xu De felt a surge of frustration. After amending the indictment, the prosecutor in this second trial was clearly on a completely different level than the one from the first.

’Formidable... Extremely formidable!’

"Mr. Prosecutor, there is no evidence that the defendant engaged in intentional acts like insults, rebukes, or pursuit during the thirty seconds after exiting his vehicle!"

Xu De pushed back, arguing his case logically.

"Furthermore, the defendant is an older man. He needs a certain amount of time to process what happened!"

"Those thirty seconds were a moment of mental paralysis, not an act of provocation!"

’It’s a mess... a total mess.’

Formal, procedural statements were now a thing of the past. It was clear the case had, by default, entered the open debate phase.

Hu Guang, however, did not back down an inch. His form-fitting black suit once again seemed to exude an incomparable presence.

"Emotion, intent, and action are inextricably linked!"

His resonant voice carried a string of pointed questions.

"You just stated that the defendant needed time to think before he could act."

"And yet, according to testimony, when the deceased, Li Erniu, came forward with the knife, the defendant—after thirty seconds of ’subjective thought’—clearly assumed a confrontational posture!"

"Furthermore, the various actions in a case are all connected."

"Combine that with his suspected ’pursuit’ from inside the police car..."

Emotion, intent, and action were practically a package deal.

Think of it this way.

Even when the police investigate a case, they determine whether the suspect had ’intent’ by examining the wounds the killer inflicted on the deceased.

If there was intent, they then determine the emotion behind it.

If it was anger, they would then investigate the deceased’s social circle for acquaintances who might have provoked such anger in the suspect!

So, by working backward from the outcome...

"In conclusion, the defendant, Wang Qiang, clearly acted with ’intent’ during the incident!"

Hu Guang’s words were sharp, striking right at the heart of the matter.

"Absurd!"

Xu De slammed his hands hard on the table, the sharp BANG BANG echoing in the courtroom as he vented his frustration.

He looked up, his face filled with rage, and met the two prosecutors’ gazes without flinching.

"To the prosecution, I must emphasize..."

"Article 20 of the Dongguo Criminal Law, regarding ’justifiable defense,’ does not include a ’duty to retreat’!"

"There is no statute that stipulates Wang Qiang had to retreat!"

The law doesn’t state you have to run and hide.

If someone comes at you with a knife and you counterattack justifiably, no one would criticize you for not running away instead.

"But it does affect the court’s determination!"

Hu Guang shot right back. From nearly ten meters apart, the two men turned their words into sharp swords, clashing fiercely in the air above the courtroom.

"’Excessive defense’ has strict criteria: exceeding the necessary limit AND causing significant harm!"

"Among these, in determining necessity, ’if the person could have easily escaped without danger’ but still chose to stay, engage, and use excessive force, then their actions are considered beyond the scope of necessity."

"The defendant, Wang Qiang, clearly fits this description!"

With that, his statement was complete.

An eerie silence descended upon the entire First Tribunal.

There were nearly five hundred people in the courtroom, but it was so quiet you could hear a person breathe. Forget loud conversations; there wasn’t so much as a whisper or a murmur.

The crowd stared blankly toward the front of the court.

Their faces were all plastered with a "Who am I? Where am I?" expression.

As for why...

The only explanation was that the clash between the prosecution and the defense lawyer... all of it had unfolded in just five short minutes!

Five minutes!

This wasn’t simple arithmetic like one plus one. It required not only memorizing every relevant statute but also adding one’s own interpretation, instantly formulating it into a counterargument, and articulating it clearly!

To put it plainly, it was like...

Two martial arts masters exchanging blows, parrying each strike, trading hundreds of moves within a few breaths!

Meanwhile, the onlookers couldn’t even see the techniques clearly, only the flash of light and sparks reflecting off clashing steel.

Right now, forget the average person; even ordinary ’experts’ could only gape in astonishment.

"Uh... what school did Lawyer Xu graduate from?"

Wang Chao, a ’Project 985’ university graduate himself, felt his eye twitch as he watched the scene, unable to stop himself from swallowing hard.

’Did he and I really both graduate from top universities in the country? How come I didn’t end up like that?’

’Was the school holding out on me?!’

"Yan University."

Lin Yue took a deep breath. She reached up to hold her forehead; her brain felt like it was overheating. It was obvious she was also struggling to keep up.

But at least she could follow the general train of thought.

After a moment, Lin Yue composed herself and turned her gaze back to the front of the court.

...

「At the front of the court.」

"Haaaah..."

Sitting at the defense table, Xu De exhaled wearily and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He knew he couldn’t afford to get bogged down in a battle of attrition with them.

’I’m low on stamina, but the prosecution can take turns. They could wear me out all day long.’

’I have to... I have to attack from a different angle!’

At that thought.

"Your Honor."

"The prosecution just stated that the defendant, Wang Qiang, engaged in the unnecessary act of not fleeing when he could have."

Without hesitation, Xu De began speaking from a new angle as he handed a document up to the court:

"In that regard... I hereby state that the premise of the prosecution’s charge is completely invalid!"

"And in my hand, I have the medical examination report for the defendant, Wang Qiang, submitted by the prosecution itself."

After the incident, Wang Qiang’s physical condition was terrible.

How terrible?

To put it this way, the first trial had concluded with his argument that "no one personally witnessed Wang Qiang intentionally kill the deceased." The reason that worked was because...

Someone at the scene had indeed assaulted Wang Qiang!

The prosecution couldn’t prove whether another person had intervened during the ’arm-wrestling’ struggle, which is why we are now in this retrial.

And in turn...

"According to the medical report, the defendant, Wang Qiang, suffered significant injuries to multiple parts of his body."

"Including, but not limited to, his elbows, back, the back of his thighs, and the area between his waist and hips... there are large areas of bruising and trauma!"

"And among them..."

Xu De’s eyes narrowed as he swiftly launched his counteroffensive.

"Wang Qiang has a clear blunt-force trauma wound on the back of his head, which nearly killed him on the spot!"

"This wound allows us to deduce that after the defendant exited the car, there wasn’t ’no threat’ behind him. There was, in fact, someone there who nearly took his life!"

"In conclusion, the prosecution’s accusation does not match reality. The defendant, Wang Qiang, was forced to remain and engage with the deceased, Li Erniu!"

’An injury... to the back of his head?’

From the shape of the wound, one could deduce the attacker’s posture, and from that posture, determine there was someone behind him, preventing a ’quick and safe’ return to the car.

And with that, the prosecution’s accusation would fall apart!

It was obvious.

Hu Guang and Wang Wei realized this, and at the same time, found the flaw in the argument!

"Objection!"

Wang Wei was the first to speak, his expression serious as he retorted sharply:

"The existing evidence cannot prove there was anyone behind Wang Qiang during the ’blank thirty seconds’."

"It’s highly probable that the wound on the back of his head was inflicted by someone attacking from behind while he was already struggling with Li Erniu!"

"Combined with the ’attitude’ and ’initiative’ we mentioned earlier... the defendant, Wang Qiang, clearly demonstrated intent to cause harm!"

The injury was real, but the timing of its infliction was a mystery.

No one knew if someone was behind Wang Qiang at that moment, cutting off his escape. Without evidence to support it, the claim couldn’t be substantiated. And if it couldn’t be substantiated, the trial would lean in the prosecution’s favor.

On top of that.

The events of a case are connected!

If a point of contention is doubtful, its validity can be inferred from the defendant’s preceding actions.

Whether it was his emotions, his behavior, the suspected ’pursuit’ in the police car, or the ’blank thirty seconds’...

Multiple points of suspicion combined can, in the eyes of the law, establish ’intent’!

And most critically...

Justifiable defense has an unwritten rule. That is, although the law mentions ’equivalent action’—like if someone slaps you, you can only slap them back in a turn-based fashion...

But in reality, when the court hears a case... equivalence isn’t the standard.

In other words, if someone inflicts minor injuries on you, when you counterattack, you can only inflict slight or no injuries on them. Only then does it constitute justifiable defense!

If you exceed that, or even match it, you’re basically looking at a choice between excessive defense and mutual combat.

’Haaah... The head of the First Investigation Team of the Second Prosecutor’s Division...’

Xu De watched Hu Guang’s eyes glitter. The man’s abilities were truly formidable. After this back-and-forth, he was actually starting to feel mentally fatigued.

In contrast, his opponents could take turns, their minds remaining sharp and calm.

’This is the drawback of being a solo practitioner. They can just run out the clock and wear me out!’

But... that didn’t mean Xu De *could* be worn down!

"Let me ask the prosecution, can the defendant’s personal attitude be corroborated by other related actions in the sequence of events!?"

Xu De suddenly changed tack and threw a question back at his opponent.

Wang Wei paused, his brow furrowed. After a moment of thought, he still nodded and said, "Yes."

If he denied it, the prosecution’s own argument would crumble.

But if he agreed...

"Excellent!"

Without hesitation, Xu De played his trump card. He changed the subject again, bringing up a tricky angle that no one had delved into during the first trial.

And that was...

Turning their own logic against them!

"Your Honor."

"If, as the prosecution says, we can make assumptions based on the continuity of events..."

"Then, after the incident led to the fatal struggle, the defendant, Wang Qiang, was the one who suffered severe trauma, bruises, and abrasions!"

"In contrast, the only injury on the deceased, Li Erniu, was the fatal one he sustained from his own actions—the very same actions that threatened the defendant’s life. He had no other bruises!"

"Therefore."

"Does this piece of objective evidence not prove that my client was not venting his emotions or engaging in excessive ’pursuit’?!"

"And what’s more..."

The next second, Xu De spoke, saying something that seemed completely counter-intuitive and illogical.

"The defendant, Wang Qiang, after the incident, was not arrested. Instead..."

"He surrendered!"

’He... surrendered?’

In an instant, everyone in the courtroom fell silent.

Immediately after, expressions of astonishment appeared on everyone’s faces, and a wave of murmuring swept through the crowd.

They remembered.

They remembered that during the first trial, Xu De had indeed brought up the defendant’s surrender.

But at the time, everyone’s attention had been captured by the "Good Samaritan" defense, so they hadn’t paid much attention to this point. They just figured he was throwing out whatever arguments he could before time ran out.

But looking at it now, it seemed he was serious. But if that was the case...

Surrender?

There were seven police officers at the scene, and one even fired a warning shot. How could that possibly count as surrendering!?

"I ask the prosecution, if we combine these two pieces of objective information..."

Xu De’s gaze darkened. His face was expressionless, but his eyes revealed a flicker of cold, rational calm.

"Does this not prove that the defendant had no malicious intent, no intent to pursue, and had a cooperative attitude, thus dispelling any suspicion of intent!?"

As his voice fell.

The entire courtroom fell into an eerie silence. For a long time, no one could speak.

Until...

As if in a trance.

At the prosecution table, the two stunned men swallowed hard and snapped back to their senses. Then, a voice suddenly rang out.

"Objection!!!"

Prosecutor Hu Guang shot to his feet, his eyes locked on Xu De as if trying to see right through him.

He slammed his hands on the table, creating a loud BANG.

"Counsel for the defense, after the incident, the scene was already under control. There were at least seven police officers present, and the defendant was less than two meters from them. Therefore, the defendant, Wang Qiang..."

"In no way was that a surrender!"

’Surrender? With seven cops on scene and a warning shot fired...’

Hu Guang refused to believe Xu De could possibly find a perspective that framed these circumstances as a surrender!