He murmured, "Three thousand, seven hundred and ninety-nine."
He had counted as he walked. That was the number of steps up to the main gate, the number of steps that Chu Wanning had climbed that day, carrying him on his back. He was certain that for as long as he lived, he would never forget Chu Wanning's hands, cold as ice, chafed raw and bloody.

(page 19)

In his last life, he had loved someone dearly. Later, that person had given up his life, and Mo Ran had fallen into hell.
In this life, there was someone who loved and protected him. Later, that person had given up his life, and brought Mo Ran back to the world of the living.

(page 21)

His first day out of seclusion, and Mo Ran hadn't made it back in time. Every single disciple of Sisheng Peak was here, including those whose names he didn't know and those he'd never even met. It was only him who was missing. But without him present, the banquet was incomplete. And all the stewed crab meatballs, sweet osmanthus lotus root, and fragrant pear blossom white wine in the world wouldn't make it complete. Chu Wanning closed his eyes.

(page 93)

Everyone, down to the youngest disciples, the men and the women, those standing alone and those in groups, all of them were looking up at the glittering, resplendent night sky and reading aloud:
Disciple Mo Ran welcomes Shizun back from seclusion.

(page 95)

Looking at the bleeding gash he'd inflicted, he asked once more, "Why didn't you dodge when I struck you earlier?"
Mo Ran fell still for a second, then dropped his thick curtain of lashes with a smile, answering once more: "You said that dreams that were too good to be true probably weren't." He paused, before continuing at a murmur: "I wanted to see if it would hurt. If it hurts, then it's not a dream. "

(page 108)

"Shizun, I..."
He what? Before Mo Ran could say any more, Chu Wanning turned on his heel and took off running. Mo Ran was flabbergasted -- he was literally running. He'd never seen Chu Wanning fleeing like this, running away like whatever was behind him was gonna eat him alive and chew up his soul.

(page 109)

Mo Ran was determined to stop others from calling his shizun "ill-mannered" ever again. Thus he vowed to act even more egregiously than Chu Wanning did, even more over-the-top. It was a dumb plan, but it was the only one he could conceive of to protect his shizun.

(page 377)

In that moment, Mo Ran decided: no, Nangong Si was not going to marry Song Qiutong.

(page 389)