Long road to self-discovery

Monthslong trip

As they struggled with one challenge after another during the journey, they toughened up. Moreover, they learned to enjoy things they wouldn't think about earlier. The couple took delight in seeing places with grass and water.

"Because it meant the horses would have food and water," Zheng says, adding that they had made a point of taking detours in the journey just to get by as much green land as possible, as well as rural households.

"It was also a great joy to find a place to hide right before a storm hit, no matter how wretched it was," Zheng says.

They celebrated whenever they managed to tide over. "It might just be a long tunnel, which could have posed some threats."

Vehicles that drove right past the horses could easily startle them as well. The couple managed to get through such situations without a scratch.

The experiences also forced the couple to pick up survival skills.

"We learned to avoid extreme weather and find directions through the sun when our phone signals were lost," he says.

The couple also had to sweat themselves out while changing horseshoes. They had to become "experts" in picking herbs for the horses, especially after one of their horses fell sick eating a toxic plant by mistake. A police officer passing offered them a ride to a local store, where they bought bottles of yogurt that helped to neutralize the toxin.

"I had tears of joy when I saw the horse getting better," Zheng says.