偏锋

brush stroke to the side (calligraphy) / fig. side stroke / lateral thinking

to lean / to slant / oblique / prejudiced / to deviate from average / to stray from the intended line / stubbornly / contrary to expectations

point of a spear / edge of a tool / vanguard / forward (in sports team)

to write with the tip of the brush tilted / (fig.) to resort to devious means

the sword moves with side stroke (modern idiom) / fig. unexpected winning move / unconventional gambit

Jian Zoupianfeng, pseudonym of prolific modern novelist