He even brought a camera—does he think I'm not going to handle his case properly or what?

Come on, who in all of Hanhai City doesn't know that Xu Liang from Hongfu Street is the most law-abiding guy around!?

"I'm showing real sincerity here. The reason I'm using a camera instead of a recorder is to supervise myself!"

Zhang Hao said impassively.

Xu Liang still wasn't happy. "So you don't trust me!?"

"No, I just want to put you at ease."

Zhang Hao said earnestly, while cursing up a storm in his heart at the same time.

Put him at ease, my ass...

Trust?

What the hell does the word 'trust' have to do with this guy even half a cent!?

Why did he come with a camera on him—does this guy really have zero self-awareness about how people see him?

The last person who trusted him was called Director Zhou.

Director Zhou completely "forgot" about the bank card with the five hundred thousand in compensation.

Xu Liang went straight to court and submitted it as evidence of bribing a witness!

Now Director Zhou is already sitting in a cell. How long he'll sit depends on the judge, but facing a vexatious crook with a rap sheet like this... odds are the sentence won't be light.

And the one before that who trusted him?

That guy was Wang Hai.

He firmly believed that Hanhai City's investigators all followed the law!

Then Hanhai City produced a "genius" who led the police in conducting an illegal investigation, dancing right on the line between lawful and unlawful...

And the one before that, her name was Zheng Mei, the one who got screwed so badly she's already been sentenced to death...

His credit's completely bankrupt!!!

In his previous life, Xu Liang couldn't scrape together enough credit points from his whole body to unlock a shared bike!

How could Zhang Hao possibly dare show up without a camera on him?

What if Xu Liang suddenly turned around and insisted he'd come to bribe him, then what!?

"Turn it off. We're all sincere people here." Xu Liang said.

"I have to keep myself under supervision!"

Zhang Hao said solemnly.

Then, not waiting for him to say another word, he calmly took a few steps back.

"Anyway, Lawyer Xu, as long as you know I'm not on the same side as Director Zhou, that's enough."

"I just came to pay you a New Year's call. I won't bother you further, I'll get going."

With that said.

He hurriedly left the law firm.

Only when he reached the corner of the hallway and saw the camera that had recorded everything did he finally feel safe.

As for Xu Liang back in the firm...

Right then, Xu Liang stroked his chin and finally frowned.

"This guy's pretty cautious."

"How do you mean?" Yang Ruoxi asked, puzzled.

"If he didn't have that camera, I could've left him something, so later I'd have a nice handful of dirt on him."

Xu Liang said.

No camera, and if he'd treated the guy to a meal or something, that could be spun as colluding on testimony.

"You can't seriously be acting like a vexatious crook!?" Yang Ruoxi was stunned.

"It's not the same thing."

Xu Liang shook his head.

"Having something on someone and having nothing on someone—that's two different worlds."

Grabbing a handle on the other person doesn't necessarily mean you're the one planning to make them lie.

Sometimes it's to keep them from lying!

"Shame this guy's a little too smart."

Xu Liang sighed, and at the same time couldn't help feeling a bit of a way about Hanhai City's judicial climate.

In other cities, even in Upper City.

He'd never seen a lawyer who needed to strap on a camera just to go meet another lawyer.

But Hanhai City has actually come to this.

Truly rage-inducing and chilling—the level of trust between people has practically hit absolute zero!

The atmosphere really has rotted to the core.

"Forget it, let's get ready to file the case."

Xu Liang took a deep breath and started bustling around with Yang Ruoxi, sorting the stack of case files.

Dealing with a vexatious crook is easy.

You just have to be more shameless than they are!

But if the other side is someone very sharp who actually likes to fight cases by the book...

Then the pressure might be even greater than it was with Director Zhou!

Because every word this kind of person says, buttoned-up and by the rules, can be researched, cited, and turned into a basis for judgment!

Thinking of that.

The two of them couldn't help speeding up.

Zhang Hao...

He won't be easy to deal with!

...

...

February 15th.

Right after the Spring Festival.

There was still a trace of chill in the air, but every household was buzzing with activity.

Over tea and after meals, people started chatting with their neighbors about the recent cases in Hanhai City.

When the topic turned to the "Jinjiang Hotel Falling Corpse Case," those who hadn't heard of it before were instantly stunned.

It was the first time they'd ever heard of such a satisfying, cathartic case!

And with relatives and friends adding fuel to the fire as they retold it.

Xu Liang was practically mythologized into a Sun Monkey who'd survived eighty-one trials and tribulations, braving countless dangers to finally dig up the evidence and win in one decisive strike at the third hearing!

Everyone listening was utterly thrilled!

...

February 17th.

Ordinary people gradually started visiting each other's homes.

When you meet up, you have to have something to talk about. Most people, as they chat, will end up steering the topic to something grand, like international affairs.

In past years, people really would talk about that at the dinner table.

But this year is different; between topics a few cases keep slipping out.

...

February 21st.

Ordinary people who'd taken time off for Spring Festival began resuming production and returning to their posts.

But this didn't curb the fermenting public opinion.

The more they talked, the more attention they paid to those few cases!

Especially the Duan Feipeng case!

Most people know the first trial isn't the key.

The second trial is!

Only if the second trial upholds the first-instance judgment can this case truly be considered closed!

So the public opinion that had originally cooled off, as time went by, actually flared up again at this moment...

...

February 24th.

Zhang Hao looked at the files he'd organized, took a deep breath, and kept his head down working hard.

Even though he'd been slapped in the face by the legal aid issue, he didn't intend to just abandon Duan Feipeng.

This is professional ethics.

He, just like Xu Liang, had his own professional ethics!

Since he wasn't giving up, he had to fight.

So, for the second instance, Zhang Hao found an unprecedented angle!

He might get cursed out for saying it, but if it worked...

Duan Feipeng might be able to get his sentence reduced!

Thinking of this, Zhang Hao buried himself back in the work.

...

February 28th.

Xu Liang and Yang Ruoxi took a train to Qingshi City, the capital of Lanshan Province.

The train arrived in the early hours of the 29th.

This place is more developed than Hanhai City.

Wage-earners from all kinds of industries are everywhere.

The two of them didn't get sentimental; they immediately went to rest.

All the way until...

...

...

March 1st.

The day of the trial for the "Hanhai City Jinjiang Hotel Falling Corpse Case"!!!

12:30 at noon.

Xu Liang and Yang Ruoxi were standing in front of the provincial High People's Court.

Compared with the building, their figures looked as tiny as ants, and in fact they were.

The towering structure bore the national emblem; flags snapped in the wind, and at the end of those countless steps stood the imposing, austere building.

Just standing here, you could feel the oppressive weight it gave off!

"It's so solemn..."

Looking at that gate radiating a cold aura, Yang Ruoxi spoke in a small voice, her heart still palpitating.

"Don't be afraid."

Xu Liang calmly looked at the High Court.

The High Court?

He had only one purpose in coming here today.

To nail Duan Feipeng to the wall once and for all!

"Let's go!"

Xu Liang's eyes suddenly sharpened. Without any more hesitation, he lifted his foot and led Yang Ruoxi up those countless steps.

The bailiff responsible for receiving them had been waiting a long time.

Seeing the two, he came up to greet them.

"The second-instance hearing will start in a bit. Go to the waiting room and rest for a while first," the bailiff said honestly.

The two nodded and followed him into the depths of the court.

Along the way, they also got a sense of the High Court of Lanshan Province.

You could only say... it really lives up to being a High Court!

Whether it was the building itself or the people coming and going, none of it was comparable to other courts.

Even the waiting room was different.

It wasn't luxurious, but it was noticeably more spacious than the Intermediate Court's.

Sitting in the waiting room,

Yang Ruoxi had nowhere to vent her nerves, so she could only start chatting with Xu Liang.

"Looks like there are quite a few reporters waiting to shoot."

The second-instance hearing had to be held in Qingshi City.

But those reporters from Hanhai City weren't going to follow them here.

Meanwhile, the media and reporters in Qingshi City had long been eyeing the traffic those Hanhai City reporters were drawing. Once they got the news, they'd prepared days in advance, just waiting to film the entire second-instance process and its outcome!

"You'll get used to it."

Xu Liang didn't care.

He simply ignored them.

He was here to fight a case; why should he care about reporters or no reporters.

The only thing he needed to worry about was Zhang Hao.

The other side...

From what angle would he fight back?

The struggle might be weak, but it might still make people feel disgusted...

As for what method the other side would use...?

Xu Liang fell into deep thought.