"The safest move is to have the corpse taken away!"

Wang Chao still didn't quite get it. "Why?"

"Because what we submitted are the medical exam reports for Zhao Shui's son, plus the autopsy reports and health checkups of other dead and living villagers from Huangyan Village."

Xu Liang started talking, patiently explaining.

"But the problem is, we filed the suit under Sun Jin's case!"

"Right now there's nothing showing that the materials we submitted are consistent with Sun Jin's situation."

If you can't prove the situations are consistent, they can only split the cases, meaning they'd have to open a new file under someone else's name.

But if the court's attitude is the same as the police's, and they want to investigate in the dark... then getting a new case filed will be very hard.

The best way is to follow along with the case that's already on file, keep digging, and then push it into trial!

So...

Now the police won't authorize an autopsy, and we can't prove anything. Under these circumstances, if Liu Kun simply removes Sun Jin's body...

That's the most effective way to sabotage the trial!

"So you're saying... they might steal the corpse?!"

Wang Chao's eyes bulged. His first instinct was that this sounded a bit impossible.

But then he looked at the dug‑up graves in front of him and felt it actually made sense.

They'd already dug up graves themselves.

The other side stealing a corpse seemed pretty reasonable too.

Except...

"How about we steal Sun Jin's body first?"

Wang Chao suggested.

"That way, they won't be able to steal it!"

Xu Liang shot the idea down without hesitation.

"No, what I mean is, let Liu Kun steal it."

"Only if he steals the body out, will we have grounds to get hold of it for an autopsy..."

Every single piece of evidence in court has to have sufficient legal validity.

An autopsy done on a stolen corpse will be directly rejected by the judge!

But if Liu Kun steals the body, and at that moment we 'accidentally' run into it, then 'rescue' the body and, in order to confirm the identity, conduct an autopsy...

Then we'll have a full and solid justification!

It's just, the only thing to worry about is...

"Will they really steal the body?"

Wang Chao asked doubtfully.

"Maybe they will, maybe they won't. Either way, watching for it doesn't cost us anything."

Xu Liang said, "When it happens, make sure you note where they take the body."

Wang Chao nodded suspiciously, then excitedly dropped his shovel and headed out.

Watching the other man's back as he left.

Xu Liang shifted his gaze back to the corpses that had been dug up in front of him.

Finally, he paused and said:

"Stop!"

As his voice fell.

The people still digging and opening coffins stopped, wiped the sweat from their foreheads, straightened up and looked at Xu Liang.

"Is that enough?"

Sun Zhongmin stood on a coffin, looking at the four bodies that had been unearthed.

Zhao Shui said nothing. His face was extremely dark; it was obvious he was in a foul mood.

He had reason to be. His mother's and his child's graves had been dug up; nobody would feel good about that.

Only...

All his gloom was aimed at Luo Jun and the others.

Just thinking that not only his kid's death was suspicious, but even his own mother's...

Zhao Shui couldn't help clenching his fists.

"It's enough."

Xu Liang replied, then lowered his head to look at the bodies.

Digging up graves to examine the corpses.

His main goal was to estimate when exactly the environmental pollution started.

If even the bones of someone who died ten years ago show heavy metal traces, that would indirectly prove that Sunzhou's environment had already deteriorated ten years back.

That way, they'd have a rough sense of the degree of pollution.

Maybe it would make the judge take this more seriously.

"Let's go for autopsies!"

Xu Liang swept his eyes over them, had everyone wrap the bodies, then load them onto the three‑wheeler.

"Vroom~"

The three‑wheeler sputtered to life. Soon, black smoke puffed out, and with a roaring engine it headed toward downtown Sunzhou City.

...

...

One‑thirty in the afternoon.

Xu Liang went alone to the Sunzhou Intermediate People's Court, carrying the new autopsy reports.

What was he here for?

To submit evidence!

This was the evidence‑submission period.

For a case, the evidence you find normally has to be handed to the court before trial; then the court will review and verify it, and only after that will it appear in the courtroom.

In his previous cases, Xu Liang had always relied on evidence ambushes; this was the first time he was honestly submitting evidence on schedule.

If Zhao Yi from the Hanhai City Intermediate Court knew that the very first case Xu Liang tried in Sunzhou, he was being this aboveboard...

Chances are Zhao Yi wouldn't feel resentful at all, but rather quite gratified!

And the evidence he produced was...

"Autopsy reports for five bodies from Huangyan Village."

"Medical exam reports for nine people."

"Fourteen reports in total, and every single one of them shows extremely serious illnesses!"

In the case‑filing division.

The presiding judge for this case, Judge Qian, was sitting right across from Xu Liang, with a court clerk at his side.

Judge Qian glanced at Xu Liang, then at the evidence in his hand, and his brows instantly furrowed.

This case was just filed yesterday, and the word from above came down right after.

The case...

Has to be stalled!

The case was too big. None of Zhang Fei and the others had expected that a filing oversight would actually be seized on by Xu Liang. Before this, they'd never even considered anyone could manage to get it filed.

They thought as long as there was no autopsy report for Sun Jin, there'd be no problem...

Who would've thought the other side would actually go dig up the grave!

But now that the case was already on the docket... all they could do was drag it out.

"Where's the autopsy report for Sun Jin?"

Judge Qian took a deep breath, flipped through the documents in Xu Liang's hand, then asked.

Autopsy report for Sun Jin?

Xu Liang's brows knit, and his heart gave a jolt.

"The autopsy on Sun Jin has already been done. The court can request it from the police."

He answered, kicking the ball over to the police.

"No."

Judge Qian shook his head. "If you put it like that... the case can't go forward."

"There's no way to prove that Sun Jin's death and these other deaths are part of the same case. Under the rules..."

"This has to be split into two separate cases."

As expected...

"Just like I thought."

Xu Liang sighed inwardly.

Everyone understood in their hearts.

But there was no clear report to prove that Sun Jin died the same way as the others!

As long as that couldn't be proven, then in court they were two separate cases.

So...

"Lawyer Xu, either you bring the autopsy report for Sun Jin now, or you file a new case."

Judge Qian reminded him:

"I recommend you file a new case, that way this evidence..."

"Sun Jin's body is with the police!" 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Xu Liang cut him off bluntly, a trace of emotion in his voice.

"Then you can communicate with the police." Judge Qian said.

"The police have hidden the body. Forget an autopsy, I can't even get a look at it!" Xu Liang's expression turned darker and darker.

"Then that has nothing to do with the court anymore."

Judge Qian shook his head.

"If the body's with the police, if they discover any issues through their investigation they'll naturally contact the procuratorate to initiate a public prosecution."

Xu Liang laughed.

Looking at that smile of his—

There was a flicker of evasiveness in Judge Qian's eyes.

The clerk beside them swallowed, instinctively sensing something was off.

"Fine, I'll go contact the police!"

Xu Liang suddenly said.

As long as he was confined within the jurisdiction of Sunzhou, and didn't elevate the case...

He'd be at their mercy.

It looked like there was no way he'd be allowed to investigate in peace...

Still...

Just as he was thinking this and about to turn to leave—

Judge Qian suddenly spoke. "Wait!"

Xu Liang halted, frowned at him.

"What else?"

"The court has already contacted them on your behalf." Judge Qian said.

The court already... contacted them for help?

What was that supposed to mean?

He'd just brought the filings over, and they'd already made contact?

Xu Liang didn't get it.

But he understood soon enough.

Two thirty in the afternoon.

A few police officers walked through the front doors of the court, led by none other than Zhao Qian!

"You're Lawyer Xu, right?"

"Someone has now reported you for illegally exhuming a body and stealing burial goods."

Zhao Qian looked at Xu Liang without a trace of expression.

"Now... please come with us."

Illegally exhuming a body?

Looking at the two men in front of him, Xu Liang narrowed his eyes.

He had dug up the grave, but it was absolutely with the family's consent!

As for stealing burial goods...

Those mountain villagers—what could there possibly be worth stealing after they died!?

So this was...

Deliberate?

"You sure about this?"

Xu Liang looked at the two men and suddenly smiled.

"Please come with the police, Lawyer Xu, and clear your name." Zhao Qian remained unmoved.

Xu Liang stared at him for a long moment.

In the end...

"You sure?"

"You get me in there, and getting me back out..."

He looked at them, expression blank, and said:

"That's not going to be something you can settle with just a word."