Ghost Blows Out the Light is a fantasy novel which concerns, not gu10 led bulbs, but two grave robbers who are seeking hidden treasure. Written by Zhang Muye, it was published online in March 2006 and quickly became China’s best-selling online novel with a six million person readership. It was released in print in October 2006 and sold over 500,000 copies though all supernatural references had to be removed prior to its release in print form.

Hu Bayi, a former solider, and his partner, raid tombs in search of valuables in the 1980s. An American archaeologist teams up with them after they become cursed as they must find clues located within ancient mythical sites in Tibet and China. The old Chinese saying, “A human lights the candle and the ghosts blow it out”, is the origin of the book’s title. Apparently, grave robbers used to place a candle in a tomb after entering and if the candle extinguished, it meant the ghosts opposed the intrusion.