Chapter Summaries

Su Bai and Li Xuezhen prepared to defend Qi Feng at his appeal hearing as public debate over the case intensified. Before the trial began, Su Bai reminded Li Xuezhen that their duty was to fight for their client, and he left her ready to proceed.

• Su Bai finished preparing for Qi Feng’s trial and waited for the hearing day to arrive.
• Lü Wei told reporters that Qi Feng’s actions constituted intentional homicide and that the law would decide the case.
• Su Bai told reporters to mention the White Jun Law Firm in their coverage of the trial.
• Li Xuezhen asked Su Bai what he thought of Lü Wei’s remarks, and Su Bai taught her that lawyers had to stay true to their convictions and fight to win for their clients.

At Qi Feng’s appeal hearing, Su Bai argued that Qi Feng had acted in lawful self-defense and sought not only his acquittal but also compensation and a public clarification from the Prosecution. The hearing had just begun, leaving the court to consider Su Bai’s striking demands.

• Court staff brought both sides into the courtroom, and Presiding Judge Lin Youping opened the hearing.
• Luo Daxiang livestreamed the proceedings and explained the roles of the judges, lawyers, and parties while viewers debated Qi Feng’s chances.
• Lin Youping confirmed Qi Feng’s grounds for appeal, and Su Bai affirmed them.
• Su Bai requested that Qi Feng be acquitted because he had acted in lawful self-defense.
• Su Bai also demanded 55,864.75 yuan in compensation from the Prosecution, a public written clarification, and other compensatory measures for Qi Feng.

Su Bai challenged Lü Wei’s claim that Qi Feng intended to kill and argued that Qi Feng’s actions constituted lawful self-defense. The chapter ended with Su Bai asking the court to reject the intentional homicide charge.

• Lü Wei argued that Qi Feng’s use of a knife to kill two people showed intent to harm, and asked the court to dismiss the appeal and compensation claim.
• Su Bai asked Lü Wei how he had established Qi Feng’s subjective intent, but the judge granted Lü Wei’s request to decline the question and terminated the questioning.
• Su Bai recounted the prosecution’s version of the events, and Lü Wei confirmed the sequence while objecting to its characterization as lawful self-defense.
• Su Bai questioned Qi Feng, who said he had taken the knife to scare the men and had felt fear after killing them.
• Su Bai cited criminal law and the case circumstances to argue that Qi Feng lacked intent to kill or evade accountability and had acted in lawful self-defense.

During Qi Feng’s appeal, Su Bai argued that Qi Feng acted in self-defense while frightened and panicked, and challenged the prosecution to refute law enforcement’s report. Lü Wei struggled to answer, leaving the courtroom dispute unresolved.

• Luo Daxiang explained that establishing a stress-induced offense could lead to lawful self-defense or a lighter sentence for Qi Feng rather than the death penalty.
• Presiding Judge Lin Youping invited Lü Wei to respond to Su Bai’s defense.
• Lü Wei argued that Qi Feng had a knife, faced no serious threat, and intentionally swung it at both attackers.
• Su Bai cited law enforcement’s report about the attackers’ histories and Qi Feng’s fear, then challenged Lü Wei to produce evidence refuting its findings.
• Lü Wei was caught off guard by Su Bai’s challenge and struggled to keep his composure.

Su Bai used law enforcement’s findings to establish that Qi Feng’s crime was not intentional, putting a death sentence out of reach and leaving excessive self-defense as a likely outcome. Lü Wei lost the argument and had no new evidence or arguments, while Su Bai’s trainee Li Xuezhen accepted his explanation for why opposing lawyers stared at him.

• Su Bai trapped Lü Wei into acknowledging that Qi Feng’s crime was not intentional, making a death sentence unlikely.
• Presiding Judge Lin Youping granted the applicant’s request and asked the prosecution for new evidence or grounds for rebuttal.
• Lü Wei said the prosecution had no new evidence, but Su Bai interrupted before he could present his planned argument.
• Lin Youping warned Su Bai to observe courtroom discipline, then asked Lü Wei whether he had any new arguments.
• Lü Wei said he had no further arguments and glared at Su Bai.
• Li Xuezhen told Su Bai that opposing lawyers stared at him, and he explained that they were jealous because his side never lost.

During the recess in Qi Feng’s trial, Su Bai and his side remained confident while Lü Wei prepared for his last chance to persuade the judges. The judges leaned toward excessive self-defense but left open the possibility of lawful self-defense, and Lin Youping decided to hear the appellant’s lawyer before settling the issue.

• The court recessed for half an hour, and Su Bai felt that his side held the advantage as the final arguments approached.
• Lü Wei acknowledged to his colleague that the case was going badly and resolved to use the closing arguments as his last chance.
• Luo Daxiang told viewers that excessive self-defense was more likely than lawful self-defense, though he still hoped Qi Feng might win the latter ruling.
• In the deliberation room, Zhu Xiong and Fang Mei agreed that Qi Feng had not committed intentional injury but differed over whether his actions amounted to excessive or lawful self-defense.
• Lin Youping said the panel would hear the appellant’s lawyer’s arguments before deciding between the two rulings.

The court ruled that Qi Feng had not committed intentional injury, overturning the basis for his death sentence. Su Bai and Lü Wei then argued over whether Qi Feng’s actions qualified as lawful self-defense, leaving that question unresolved before the closing statement.

• Lin Youping found that Qi Feng had neither desired nor consciously allowed the harmful consequence and ruled that he had not committed intentional injury.
• Qi Feng realized he no longer faced the death sentence, and Su Bai signaled him to stay calm and keep listening.
• Su Bai argued that Qi Feng had acted in lawful self-defense while two attackers continued assaulting him and that he stopped when they fell.
• Lü Wei countered that the attackers had lost the ability to continue their assault after being injured, so Qi Feng’s actions exceeded the necessary limits.

The Prosecution and defense delivered closing statements in Qi Feng’s trial, with Su Bai arguing that the circumstances justified legitimate self-defense and presenting evidence about public reaction. The panel took a second recess to deliberate, and Lin Youping reached a decision before the verdict was announced.

• Lü Wei urged the court to impose a severe sentence, emphasizing that Qi Feng’s excessive self-defense had caused two deaths.
• Su Bai argued that Qi Feng’s actions should be judged in context and introduced a widely viewed online comment about the public’s expectations of justice.
• Lin Youping asked whether Su Bai had evidence supporting the comment, and Su Bai submitted prepared documents for the panel to examine.
• Lin Youping declared a thirty-minute recess before the verdict, and Su Bai suspected the defense had shifted the judge’s view.
• In the deliberation room, Zhu Xiong and Fang Mei said past rulings pointed to excessive self-defense but noted the impact of Su Bai’s closing statement.
• Lin Youping listened to the panel members and reached a decision.

After a second recess, the court ruled that Qi Feng had acted in justifiable self-defense and acquitted him, ordering his immediate release and compensation. Qi Feng reunited with his parents as Su Bai reflected on the difficult but successful case.

• Luo Daxiang explained that the court’s second recess might mean it was considering justifiable self-defense.
• After the hearing resumed, Lin Youping announced that Qi Feng’s actions met the legal requirements for justifiable self-defense and overturned the first-instance judgment.
• The court acquitted Qi Feng, ordered his immediate release, and required the relevant authorities to compensate him and repair his reputation.
• Lü Wei reacted in disbelief, while Qi Feng celebrated his freedom and thanked Su Bai.
• Su Bai urged Qi Feng to see his parents, and Qi Feng embraced them in the courtroom.

After winning Qi Feng’s case with a justifiable self-defense ruling, Su Bai paid Li Xuezhen the internship wages he had promised. Outside the courtroom, reporters waited to interview them, while Su Bai rejected Li Xuezhen’s plan to promote the firm with a banner.

• Su Bai told Li Xuezhen the trial was over, and she reminded him that he had promised to pay her internship wages.
• Su Bai transferred Li Xuezhen pay calculated at 4,500 a month and assured her that his promises about her future partnership were genuine.
• Li Xuezhen pulled out a promotional banner she had prepared, but Su Bai put it away and said the firm did not need advertising.
• Lü Wei asked whether losing meant his earlier thinking had been wrong, and Su Bai bluntly told him that it did.
• Su Bai and Li Xuezhen left the courtroom as reporters and media crews waited outside to cover Qi Feng’s acquittal.