Chapter 30 - 25: An Act of Righteous Bravery

’Protecting the police?’

How could the five-foot-three, rail-thin Wang Qiang have been protecting the police at the scene?

The moment Xu De finished speaking, something unusual happened.

"Wait, defense counsel."

In a rare move, the presiding judge, Zhang Bingxin, suddenly spoke up from the bench, interrupting Xu De.

In principle, neither party was supposed to be interrupted while presenting their case, yet he had chosen to do so.

Zhang Bingxin felt as if age was catching up to him, that his ears weren’t working properly.

He stared blankly at Xu De, and as if seeking confirmation, he spoke with a slight hesitation.

"Are you saying... that the defendant’s actions at the time of the incident... were to protect others? Not his daughter, but the police?"

At the defense table,

Xu De paused his statement. He looked at Zhang Bingxin and replied without a hint of hesitation,

"Yes and no. I haven’t finished speaking, but in essence, yes."

"We contend that the defendant, Wang Qiang, was performing a heroic act, which means he is by no means guilty of the ’intentional homicide’ stated in the prosecution’s indictment!"

Zhang Bingxin pressed further.

"So, your position is that the defendant was performing a heroic act? That he was protecting seven police officers, one of whom was armed?"

Xu De replied calmly once more,

"Yes, Your Honor."

Zhang Bingxin: ?

In that instant, Zhang Bingxin was stunned.

And he wasn’t the only one. The other two judges on the bench, Liu Jianguo and Sun Dong, were also frozen in place.

The same went for the prosecution table. Several prosecutors exchanged long glances, while Chen Wei frowned, wondering what game Xu De was playing.

After a long moment, Zhang Bingxin looked at Xu De, his brow furrowed. His demeanor grew noticeably more serious as he said,

"Defense counsel, please proceed."

"Very well."

Xu De gave a slight nod. After a brief pause, he picked up where he had left off.

"Your Honor, members of the jury."

"According to the evidence, the defendant, Wang Qiang, went to Li Family Village on October 2nd, which resulted in the death of Li Erniu."

"But we cannot view this incident as involving only Wang Qiang and Li Erniu!"

"Counsel for the prosecution, I ask you: at the time of the incident, who else was present at the scene besides the deceased and the defendant!?"

The moment he finished speaking, the crisp sound of a gavel rang out.

BANG!

Zhang Bingxin picked up his gavel and tapped it lightly on the bench.

"We will now proceed to the inquiry phase. Prosecution, please answer the question."

At the prosecution table.

’What... what the hell is with this lawyer?’ Prosecutor Wang Wei frowned, glancing sideways at Hu Guang. He had no idea what the other man was up to.

’A heroic act?’

It wasn’t just the reporters and spectators in the gallery who were stunned; even they, the prosecutors from the Intermediate People’s Procuratorate, were nearly caught completely off guard!

In his forty-plus years of life...

...this was the first time he’d ever heard that a man who became flushed with anger, threw the first punch, and subsequently killed someone could be considered to be performing a heroic act!

’Does this lawyer even know what he’s saying!?’

"Let’s wait and see,"

Prosecutor Hu Guang replied with a frown. He then turned to Xu De and answered in a loud voice,

"They fall into six categories."

"The police, the victims of the human trafficking case, the defendant, the victim, the victim’s family, and the residents of Li Family Village."

Hearing this, Xu De nodded from the defense table and continued,

"Correct. Six categories of people. We’ll set that aside for the moment."

"Then, let me ask the prosecution again: under what circumstances are the criteria for ’intentional homicide,’ as stated in the indictment, met?"

This might be something a layperson would find difficult to articulate clearly.

But no one in this courtroom was a novice.

Hu Guang began his response.

"Article 14 of the Criminal Code clearly stipulates, and I quote: ’An intentional crime is committed when a person is clearly aware their actions will have socially harmful consequences, and they either hope for or are indifferent to these consequences, thereby committing a crime.’"

"This includes direct intent, indirect intent, and indifference."

At this point,

Hu Guang raised the document in his hand and pointed to the text on it.

"In this case, the defendant, Wang Qiang, was clearly aware that his own actions would cause the conflict to escalate and result in injury or death, yet he did not stop."

"This, in turn, led to the death of the victim, Li Erniu."

"Therefore, the defendant, Wang Qiang, meets the criteria for indirect intentional homicide under Article 14!"

Intentional homicide can be classified in different ways. It’s not just a matter of hating someone and killing them with a knife.

For example, a thought process like, ’I know someone might die because of this, but I don’t care. If they die, they die. I don’t hope for it, but I won’t stop it, and I’ll accept that outcome.’ This also counts as intentional homicide.

Wang Qiang’s actions could be classified as either direct or indirect. Considering the testimony and evidence, Hu Guang believed it fell into the latter category.

"Counsel for the defense, do you have anything to add?"

Hu Guang crossed his arms on the table, leaned forward, and looked at Xu De with a frown.

Upon hearing this, Xu De, having gotten the response he wanted, took a deep breath and said,

"Counsel for the prosecution, everything you have just stated..."

"...is completely inconsistent with the facts!"

’Inconsistent with the facts?’

This was no laughing matter. To a prosecutor, such a claim was tantamount to a personal attack!

Just as a look of anger began to cross Hu Guang’s face, his opponent cut him off before he had a chance to speak.

Xu De suddenly turned to the courtroom and declared loudly,

"According to the prosecution, the defendant, Wang Qiang, became emotional due to the conflict over the human trafficking case, which bred hostility, leading him to strike the first blow and cause the victim’s death."

"But..."

"...according to the evidence, the person who struck first was clearly the deceased, Li Erniu!"

As his words landed, everyone in the courtroom froze for a second, their faces soon filled with astonishment. A fresh commotion erupted from the gallery.

"That’s not right. I sympathize with the defendant, but... from the information the police released, didn’t the victim just try to pull the defendant’s family member out of the vehicle?"

"There was no excessive violence, no verbal provocation..."

"I just... I’m starting to not understand this lawyer at all."

"..."

Someone in the gallery raised a hand to his head, staring at Xu De. He thought for a long time but still couldn’t figure out what the lawyer was getting at.

It wasn’t just the spectators.

Even Hu Guang, Wang Wei, and the others clashing directly with him frowned, having no idea what game he was playing.

’Logically, this lawyer is no amateur. If that’s the case...’

’...what on earth does he mean by this? What is his objective!?’

Hu Guang stared at Xu De as if trying to bore into his mind and uncover his thoughts.

Presiding Judge Zhang Bingxin was also stunned for a long moment before he finally spoke hesitantly.

"Defense counsel, please elaborate on your previous statement."

Xu De nodded, a faint smile finally appearing on his face.

And then, a torrent of words filled the ears of the more than four hundred people in the First Tribunal.

"Let me ask the prosecution: before the death occurred, what was the situation with the other people at the scene—the six categories of people I asked about earlier?"

"The police, the human trafficking victims, the victim’s family, the residents of Li Family Village..."

"What was the dynamic between these four groups?"

Xu De didn’t wait for an answer. He supplied it himself.

"It was a standoff!"

"It was an illegal criminal act in which more than forty people—including the two family members present in this trial—armed with various implements, illegally detained seven police officers and the trafficking victims, posing a severe threat to their physical safety!"

"And my client,"

"...was the one who, under these exact circumstances, stepped forward to protect those police officers and confront all of the criminals!!!"

The First Tribunal, the largest courtroom in all of Lusen City, fell completely silent.

More than four hundred people stared, mouths agape, at the impassioned lawyer.

"In summary, and in accordance with Article 2 of the Lusen City Regulations on the Reward and Protection of Heroic Citizens..."

Xu De declared, "My client was, in fact, performing a heroic act!"

Prosecutor Hu Guang: ?

Presiding Judge Zhang Bingxin: ?

The gallery: ?

As his voice faded, the entire courtroom fell silent.