" That's not gon fu." We stared at each other for a long time, then he raised on eybrow. "I could fix it, if you wanted." I must have nodded, because then he asked me if I could chi ku, eat bitter, the Chinese expression meaning to endure suffering. Lying, I said yes. Then he asked me if I was afraid of pain. Lying again, I said no. "You want?" he asked. "I want,
" I said, and became his student. "

― Mark Salzman , Iron & Silk