Jason looked him over and said, "My, my, you've grown since the last time I saw you."
Arthur grinned and said, "So have you. You have a beard now."
His comment made Jason laugh. He said, "I didn't want to keep it before. But I didn't have time to shave it during the sect examination. So it grew larger. I fell in love with it after the examination, so I decided to keep it."
As he spoke, he stroked his beard like some sage.
Arthur asked, "How was the exam?"
Jason shook his head and said, "It was bloody. There was a lot of blood. Fortunately, I am not a stranger to blood."
He laughed after saying that.
He was referring to the bloodletting rites that every true child of the family goes through when they come of age. They are taken to the prison where they kill people.
