This is the petition in response from Jingling County. Next comes a long list of Clark's crimes, including that in his youth he enlisted in the army several times and participated in wars, but was reprimanded for lack of enthusiasm in battle. After returning home, he spread negative remarks and was reported by his neighbors, so he was punished to serve as a garrison soldier and sent north to guard the frontier. However, on the way north, he injured the escorting personnel, seized armor and weapons, and escaped into Yunmeng Marsh.

After that, Clark even tried to sneak back to his hometown to escape with his wife and children, but was stopped by his neighbors, and Clark once again injured someone and fled.

“You still dare to say now that you have no other crimes?” Jack's voice became stern. Seeing that all his secrets had been exposed, Clark hung his head in dejection and admitted to these crimes.

Jack's voice softened again, as if he already knew everything about Clark: “Your crimes, I know every single one of them. The reason I did not expose you was to see if you had any intention to confess... For example, the home invasion, murder, and robbery in the creek at Jingling County half a year ago—did you also take part in that? The petition from Jingling County says that the surviving witness described the perpetrator’s appearance and build, which matches you exactly!”

Jack's expression changed instantly, threatening, “If you do not confess truthfully, I will have to use torture!”

Unlike the later generations’ imagination of the Qin dynasty’s ten cruelest tortures, interrogation in Qin prioritized collecting evidence and questioning as the best methods. Only when the criminal was truly stubborn would torture be used, but in the eyes of officials, this was already a lesser approach.

Just now, Clark was only dejected, but now he was utterly terrified. He kowtowed repeatedly and, like pouring beans, confessed to all the crimes he had committed.

It turned out he really had two lives on his hands, and had participated in five or six robberies of various sizes, though the loot was not much.

Unfortunately, in Qin, when judging a case, it didn’t matter how much you stole—what mattered was your criminal intent! Even if it was just a single coin, or even a worthless rope or mulberry leaf, it was still considered theft! Let alone murder.

However, murder was not the most extreme crime. In Qin law, the most serious crime, apart from treason, was the crime of gang robbery.

Next, Jack had the two accomplices of Clark each state their names, places of origin, and crimes. The result was quite surprising: they turned out to be Chu people who had fled from the south of the Yangtze in Chu (modern Hunan) into Yunmeng Marsh, three in total, and only teamed up with Clark this summer.

Now things got a bit tricky. Although Jack had already known about this, he still frowned.

Qin law only applied to Qin’s commanderies and counties, and could not reach Chu. As such, the origins and crimes of these two Chu bandits could not be verified, and they could only be sentenced according to precedent.

At this point, it was time for Henry and Edward to appear, just as before, first stating their names, identities, and places of origin.

Jack then repeatedly confirmed with them: at the time, did they see only four bandits?

“There were indeed only four.” Henry now greatly admired Jack; the entire county prison’s main hall had become his stage, and his sharpness and competence were in no way inferior to any professionally trained judge of later generations!

“According to the law, since there were fewer than five people, it does not constitute the crime of gang robbery.”

Jack stroked his beard and said to the clerks, “Write this down: Clark and the others are not considered a gang, and can only be convicted of ordinary robbery and murder.”

With this, the course of the case and the nature of the crimes were now clear, but it was not over yet. Jack turned his gaze to Henry and his companion, asking about the process of capturing the bandits.

Edward seemed to have forgotten about being beaten earlier, and began to speak animatedly, especially boasting about Henry single-handedly defeating three bandits and disarming them barehanded. Ever since he had acknowledged Henry as his brother, Henry’s skills seemed to have become his own, and he felt honored by association.

Edward might not be good at other things, but he was a master of gossip and bragging. When he got to the exciting parts, even the clerks who had been recording the interrogation stopped writing and listened intently.

Jack still did not interrupt Edward. Only after he finished, parched and out of breath, did he turn his head and ask Henry, “Is that so?”

Henry had no choice but to answer, “His words are a bit exaggerated, but not far from the truth. I did fight three at once, but Edward also fought with another bandit for a long time. If not for his help, I might already be a corpse by the roadside.”

Jack nodded, not believing blindly, and asked the three bandits again. Seeing that they had no objections, he turned his questioning gaze to the clerk, “Mark.”

It turned out that Mark’s duties included not only maintaining order in the court, but also autopsy and crime scene investigation—equivalent to a forensic doctor in later times. Qin governed by Legalist thought, striving for precision in all things. The day before, when sent to question the three bandits, Mark had already recorded the details of their wounds and submitted an examination report—the “petition.”

“Chu bandit A has a blade wound on the outside of the left ankle, horizontal, 9 inches long, a mark from a short sword; a bruise on the abdomen, a mark from a heavy punch. Chu bandit B has a blade wound on the outside of the right leg, vertical, 4 inches long, 1 inch wide, the wound is smooth, a mark from a short sword stab; no other injuries elsewhere...”

After reading the injury report, Jack could tell that Henry had not lied. The locations and depths of the wounds matched exactly, so he looked surprised and said, “You look so young, yet you have such courage and skill.”