Courtyard House: Drunk and tipsy, the whole courtyard exposed at the start.

The presiding judge sternly warned, "If you disrupt the court proceedings again, we will take legal measures to restrain you and hold you accountable!"

Intimidated by the judge's imposing manner, Jia Zhangshi dared not shout loudly anymore, but she still stomped her feet and cried softly, cursing Zhang Dabiao incessantly.

The old judge looked at Zhang Dabiao, maintaining an objective and rigorous tone: "Comrade Zhang Dabiao, regarding what Jia Zhangshi said, you did indeed say last year that Jia Dongxu wouldn't live more than two years, and that your father was a Taoist priest. Is this true?"

Zhang Dabiao nodded frankly: "It's true. My father was indeed a Taoist priest in his early years. The old man was conservative in his thinking, so he learned some fortune-telling and face-reading skills and made a living by doing weddings and funerals. At the end of the year before last, he did some fortune-telling for the people in the courtyard, and I remembered what he said when he was nagging."

"At the beginning of last year, I casually mentioned it in the courtyard. It was just repeating what my father said, and it was also said in anger. I never expected that they would remember it to this day and even use it as evidence of murder."

He looked at the crowd: "Judge, but can't we take angry words seriously? I'd like to invite two neighbors to come up and testify. Occasional quarrels and angry words between neighbors are common and shouldn't be used as evidence for conviction. Is that alright?"

The old judge pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "Permission granted. Bring the witnesses up."

Zhang Dabiao shouted into the crowd, "Shazhu, Xu Damao, come here!"

Sha Zhu and Xu Damao instantly turned pale, their bodies tensing up—[Holy crap, Zhang Dabiao? How are we involved in this?]

The two staggered through the crowd, their steps unsteady as they walked to the center of the field, trembling slightly. They tried to appear calm by straightening their clothes, but their legs kept shaking, their eyes darting around, afraid of saying the wrong thing and getting implicated. In their hearts, they cursed Zhang Dabiao a thousand times over.

"Shazhu," Zhang Dabiao looked at him, his tone flat, "Do you often argue with Xu Damao, and when you get angry you say you're going to kill him?"

Sha Zhu shuddered and stammered, "Yes...yes! But that was just said in anger! Xu Damao and I have never gotten along since we were kids. We often argue and fight. Whenever I get angry, I say things without thinking. It's all...it's all just a joke, it doesn't count! It really doesn't count, Judge!"

Fearing the judge might misunderstand, he turned to the judge's bench and waved his hands repeatedly in defense, his voice trembling with tears.

"If you said that, and Xu Damao really dies in an accident a year or two later, wouldn't it be considered that you killed him?" Zhang Dabiao asked again.

Sha Zhu was so frightened that his legs went weak and he almost collapsed to the ground. Xu Damao helped him up and he stood up. "How could I! Can you take angry words seriously? I... I wouldn't dare to kill someone! Besides, Xu Damao often says he's going to kill me, but he doesn't really mean it!"

Xu Damao quickly chimed in, his voice trembling slightly: "Yes! Yes! It was all a joke, it doesn't count! Sha Zhu and I may have been arguing, but we never meant to really kill each other. We wouldn't dare, Judge, please don't take it seriously!"

The two stood there, not daring to breathe.

Zhang Dabiao turned to the judge and shrugged: "Judge, you see, it's common for neighbors to bicker and say hurtful things in anger. Last year, I said Jia Dongxu wouldn't live more than two years, which is exactly the same as Sha Zhu saying he wanted to kill Xu Damao. They were just casual jokes."

"As for evil magic, that's utter nonsense. Although my father was a Taoist priest, I never learned it. The neighbors in the courtyard can all testify to that."

That's right. Zhang Dabiao was a complete idiot before he turned 17. Even if he wanted to learn, he couldn't. He couldn't even do addition and subtraction within 100 properly. Otherwise, why would he have been repeating grades and going to elementary school all the time?

The elderly judge and the two judges beside him conferred in hushed tones for a moment, then looked at everyone and said solemnly, "Based on preliminary investigation, combined with school records and witness testimonies, the defendant Zhang Dabiao was indeed attending classes at school during the period of Jia Dongxu's death and had no opportunity to commit the crime. The plaintiff's accusation of 'murder by witchcraft' has no factual or scientific basis, does not conform to the principles of case handling, and is therefore rejected."

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhangshi immediately became anxious: "Judge, you can't believe him! He's just making excuses! You can't be fooled by him!"

The old judge ignored Jia Zhangshi and continued to look at Zhang Dabiao, posing the most crucial question: "Comrade Zhang Dabiao, since you were just making a joke, why did you immediately ask 'Dead?' when Comrade Chen Guangliang mentioned 'Jia Dongxu' at school? How could you immediately connect it to Jia Dongxu's accident and accurately guess that he was dead? You must explain this clearly."

This was a question that everyone in the room was curious about. Even if Zhang Dabiao had no time or motive for the crime, this coincidence was still too suspicious.

The crowd fell silent instantly, all eyes fixed on Zhang Dabiao, awaiting his explanation. Chen Guangliang also tensed, staring intently at Zhang Dabiao—this was the only suspicious point he could grasp, and the only thing he could barely explain to the Municipal Bureau.

Zhang Dabiao's face showed a hint of helplessness. He shrugged and said in a slightly cheeky tone, "Hey, that's easy, I just guessed!"

"A guess?" The old judge frowned, clearly dissatisfied with the answer.

"Human life is at stake; we cannot simply gloss over it with speculation. You must provide a reasonable explanation."

Chen Guangliang immediately stepped forward and said, "Judge, I believe this suspicious point needs to be investigated! If he wasn't connected to Jia Dongxu's death, how could he guess the person was gone just by hearing the name? This is definitely not a coincidence!"

Zhang Dabiao glanced at Chen Guangliang and grinned slyly: "Chief Chen, don't be in such a hurry, I'll explain it to you right away. You brought two policemen, handcuffed, and barged into my classroom while I was teaching, and the first thing you said was that I 'had committed a crime,' and then you mentioned Jia Dongxu's name."

"Last year, I was summoned to the police station for questioning because of what I said about Jia Dongxu. With this kind of entourage, what else could it be but that Jia Dongxu has gotten into trouble?"

He spoke casually and clearly: "Even a fool could guess that either Jia Dongxu had an accident, or the Jia family has smeared something on me. Plus, with your menacing look, and the handcuffs out, it's not like someone died. Why would you make such a fuss to arrest me?"

"I just asked casually, and I didn't expect to guess right—what, guessing right is illegal?"

This explanation was reasonable, fitting his old acquaintance with Chen Guangliang and the context of the time. Everyone present nodded in agreement, their eyes filled with more doubt as they looked at Chen Guangliang.

Clearly, everyone felt that Chen Guangliang was eager to make a name for himself, so he deliberately exaggerated the doubts and wronged Zhang Dabiao.

Chen Guangliang's face flushed red and then turned pale. He opened his mouth but couldn't find any words to refute it. He could only retreat to the side in a huff, feeling both angry and regretful.

The old judge pondered for a moment, then spoke again, his tone inquisitive: "That explains it, but there's another question. How could your father's casual joke have come true so accurately? Did you really just relay it casually, or did you foresee Jia Dongxu's situation for some reason?"

"Please explain."