Feel good now.
“That’s a magnificent sword,” I said to the man with the sword.
“I’m partial to it,” he admitted, squinting down the blade at me with a weather-faced grin.
We were standing on a deserted stretch of road in the Tai Po forest between Kiori and Ad Bhajjan.
The man with the sword was currently using it to rob me.
Wait.
Before you worry too much, I’m going to pause for a second—like the grandfather in The Princess Bride—to tell you:
No, this is not something that happened to me personally.
I was not held up in a forest by a bandit with a sword.
This adventure actually happened to the wandering pilgrim Shu Pho Pax in Chapter Eight of my mythic fantasy novel PILLAR WALKER.
Shu Pho Pax travels alone across the Empire, carrying sacred pillars to build the Great Temple. Along the way, he encounters bandits and trolls, wise hermits, hospitable ghosts and ancient dragons.
But no matter where he goes, he always brings a joke, a story, and a way with words that gets him out of trouble.
If you want to read the tales of Shu Pho Pax in his own words, you could go to my virtual bookstore and purchase a copy for $9.99.
But…
Because I think Shu Pho Pax would approve of a little generosity, I want to make you a better offer:
Instead of one book…
You can download all THREE books in my Wisdom Trilogy (usually $29.97) for just $9.
👉 https://stan.store/jackdolinar/p/wisdom-trilogy-bundle👈
That’s Pillar Walker, Parables and The Stranger — three sister books of mystical wisdom tales — for less than the price of one.
I know. I’m crazy.
But I’m the harmless, happy kind of crazy that gives you great book deals, tells fun stories and makes you laugh when you open your email.
Speaking of stories…
Shu Pho Pax was in the middle of telling us one:
“You know what they say about the Tai Po forest?” I asked conversationally.
The man grunted with his foot halfway into my boot. “What do they say, pillar walker?”
“There’s an oni that lives here, that stalks the trails at twilight.”
“An oni?” The man looked sharply up at me.
“So they say.” I shrugged and winked at him.
He grunted again and looked away as he tugged on my second boot. But I knew he was listening.
“Anyone who meets it will think it’s just another traveler. And it may appear to be. But those unlucky few who anger it—or meet it when it’s hungry, which is really the same thing—realize their mistake.”
As I spoke, I saw the man sneak a glance over his shoulder. The sun was dipping below the horizon. Cold mist curled between the trees. The bandit looked back at me, and I gathered myself up.
My mother’s people were from the Shung-Go Valleys, so I’m taller than most when I’m not hunched under a sacred pillar, and carrying a huge stone around all day does wonders for the physique.
“Then,” I whispered, leaning in, “the oni speaks your name… and you know your time has come to die.”
The man was spellbound now.
“Lo Bei Duk…” I whispered.
He was on his feet and gone like a hare, bolting down the trail so fast he left his sword behind. He vanished into the trees before I could even breathe a sigh of relief.
I picked up the sword and kissed the name etched on the crossguard. Then, counting myself lucky to have lost only a pair of old boots, I hefted the pillar and continued on my way.
As with every story in the Wisdom Trilogy, this one ends with a lesson:
“To change your circumstances, just tell a different story.”
The stories we share shape our lives.
That’s one of the reasons I love stories.
I love Pillar Walker.
I hope you will, too.
Telling stories and laughing in the hills of Provence,
Jack
P.S.
With a little cleverness and his knack for storytelling, Shu Pho Pax escapes the bandit. (Or maybe it’s more accurate to say the bandit escapes him.)
But that’s only the beginning.
There are 40+ stories in Pillar Walker — and as many again in Parables and The Stranger.
Click here to download all three books instantly for just $9.